Ammonium nitrate based explosive

Ammonium nitrate-based explosives account for about 97% of total U.S. industrial explosive consumption. Coal mining in the United States formed about 65—68% of the demand for explosives in 1991. The remaining uses were quarrying and nonmetal mining, 15% metal mining, 10% constmction, 7% miscellaneous uses, 3—4%. The properties of ammonium nitrate are given in Table 18 (173,239—242). 

Inorganic oxidizers are widely used as blasting agents in mining and construction explosives and also in improvised explosive devices utilized by terrorists. Ammonium-nitrate-based explosives (e.g., ammonium nitrate and fuel oil — ANFO) have almost completely replaced the majority of dynamites. In addition, slurry and emulsion explosives, which contain mosdy ammonium nitrate and a small amount of other oxidizers, have become widely used. 

Yeager, K. Data-Base of Range Evaluated Improvised Explosives (D-BREIE) Phase I Ammonium Nitrate Based Explosives. EMRTC Report to TSWG, July 1999. 

Ammonium nitrate based explosives are generally used for quarrying, tunnelling and mining. They are mixtures of ammonium nitrate, carbon carriers such as wood meal, oils or coal, and sensitizers such as nitro-glycol, TNT and dinitrotoluene. These compositions may also contain aluminium powder to improve their performance. 

Ammonsalpeter-Sprengstoffe = ammonium nitrate based explosives 16 167 199 amorgage = priming 267... 

Figure 4.52. The mass velocity-time curve for an ammonium nitrate-based explosive (ANFO), obtained by the EPVG method (After Leiper et al., 1985)...

Large quantities of explosives are used every year. In the United States, for example, the annual consumption exceeds over 2 million tonnes. Most are used for commercial purposes and are ammonium nitrate-based formulations. There are less than a dozen chemical explosives that are manufactured in bulk quantities, and most of these were discovered in the 50-year period between 1850 and 1900. New explosives have been synthesized but optimization of the formulations takes decades and is very expensive. Consequently, any new material has to offer very significant advantages, either in terms of unique performance for military applications or in terms of cost and safety for commercial applications. 

Copper Iron(II) Sulfide. This mixture resulted in a premature explosion, using ammonium nitrate-based blasting cartridges.13... 

J.C. Oxley, S.M. Kaushik, N.S. Gilson "Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Nitrate-Based Composites", Thermochem. Acta, 153 (1989) 269-286. J.C. Oxley, S.M. Kaushik, N.S. Gilson, "Ammonium Nitrate Explosives—Thermal Stability and Compatibility on Small and Large Scale" Thermochem. Acta, 212 (1992) 77-85. 

Ammonium dichromate decomposes on heating, but is not an explosive. It is a component of pyrotechnical charges, and is an effective additive which is introduced into ammonium nitrate-based propellants in order to catalyze the decomposition reaction. 

Trade names of ammonium-nitrate based nitroglycerine-sensitized powder-form explosives distributed in the Germany and exported by WASAGCHEMIE. 

Many high explosives contain nitroaromatics, such as TNT. Often mixtures of high explosives are used. For example, Tettytol is a mixture of tetryl and TNT used in demolition blocks and cast shaped charges. Because of its low cost, TNT is widely used in high explosive formulations (e.g., amatol, ednatol, pentolite, torpex, tritonal, picratol, cyclotol, ednatol, DBX, HBX-1, HBX-3, H-6, PTX-1, PTX-2, Minol2, and Compositions C-2, C-3, and B) [15]. Many ammonium nitrate based industrial explosives also contain DNT or TNT in the mixture [16]. This wide use of nitroaromatics makes them an important target class for explosives detection. 

The Dutch PGS directives are based on the SEVESO Directives. The Seveso II Directive 96/82/EC was extended by Directive aoos/ros/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC. The latter was established to cover risks arising from storage and processing activities in mining, from pyrotechnic and explosive substances, and from the storage of ammonium nitrate and ammonium nitrate-based fertilisers. 

Water-in-od emulsion explosives have been made as typified by a formulation containing 20% water, 12% oil, 2% microspheres, 1% emulsifier, and 65% ammonium nitrate. The micro droplets of an emulsion explosive offer the advantage of intimate contact between fuel and oxidizer, and tend to equal or outperform conventional water-based slurries. 

Ammonia from coal gasification has been used for fertilizer production at Sasol since the beginning of operations in 1955. In 1964 a dedicated coal-based ammonia synthesis plant was brought on stream. This plant has now been deactivated, and is being replaced with a new faciUty with three times the production capacity. Nitric acid is produced by oxidation and is converted with additional ammonia into ammonium nitrate fertilizers. The products are marketed either as a Hquid or in a soHd form known as Limestone Ammonium Nitrate. Also, two types of explosives are produced from ammonium nitrate. The first is a mixture of fuel oil and porous ammonium nitrate granules. The second type is produced by emulsifying small droplets of ammonium nitrate solution in oil. 

The most important explosives of this class are the ammon gelignites, so called because they are based essentially on ammonium nitrate which is the cheapest and most powerful source of oxygen. Sodium nitrate is sometimes added as well in order to improve the oxygen balance for certain types of these explosives. The ammon gelignites are explosives with... 

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