Ammonium Nitrate Emulsion Slurries

Dynamite is a generic name for a variety of explosive compositions. These compositions can be divided into two categories gelatine dynamite and non-gelatine dynamite, as shown in Table 7.2. 

Most military explosives are solid compounds which are manufactured in granular form, with bulk densities of less than 1 g cm-3. These granular compounds are then mixed with other explosive or inert additives to give explosive compositions with densities between 1.5 and 1.7 g cm 3. The explosive compositions are then cast, pressed or extruded into their final form. 

The manufacturing process for the casting of explosive compositions nowadays uses carefully controlled cooling, vibration and vacuum tech- 

Gelatine dynamite 25-55% Nitroglycerine, 1-5% nitrocellulose, woodmeal Inorganic nitrates 

Explosive compositions which are processed by casting generally contain TNT, which has a relatively low melting temperature (80 °C) compared with its ignition temperature (240 °C). Large quantities of TNT were used for casting in the Second World War. 

Molten TNT was mixed with ammonium nitrate to give amatol , or ammonium nitrate and aluminium to give minol . Today, TNT is used as an energetic binder for cast compositions. It is used to bind together RDX, HMX, aluminium and ammonium perchlorate. 

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For mud-like ammonium nitrate explosives - Slurries and -< Emulsion Slurries. 

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. 

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. 

Commercial blasting explosives contain ammonium nitrate, wood meal, oil and TNT. A mixture of ammonium nitrate, water and oily fuels produces an emulsion slurry which is also used in commercial blasting explosives. Small glass or plastic spheres containing oxygen can be added to emulsion slurries to increase its sensitivity to detonation. 

Water-containing ammonium nitrate mixtures with fuels are known as -> Slurries and -> Emulsion Slurries... 

Slurries, Emulsions and Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oils... 

Blasting agents—explosive materials that cannot be initiated by a No. 8 Test Detonator when unconfined, but which will detonate with a stronger stimulus. Typical examples include ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO), blends, and certain emulsions, water gels, and slurries. ... 

The latest significant development in industrial explosives actually was invented only a few years after slurries, but full commercialization has occurred only within about the last fifteen years. Water-in-oil emulsion explosives involve essentially the same ingredients that slurry composite explosives do, but in a different physical form. Aqueous solutions of oxidizer salts, primarily ammonium nitrate, are emulsified into a relatively small amount of oil and emulsifier. Because of oxygen-balance constraints the volume ratio of the two liquid phases is about 90 10 for the aqueous and oil phases, respectively. This... 

A suspected water gel is examined on a microscope slide to identify the microspheres used in slurry and emulsion explosives. The gel is directly extracted with methanol, which dissolves the amine salt, and a small amount of NH4NO3. TLC on a cellulose plate using a chloroform-methanol-water system separates the sensitizers. The plate is sprayed with ni-nhydrin and heated to visualize the amine salt. A second spray with diphenylamine in ethanol followed by long-wave UV irradiation visualizes the NFi4N03 if desired. Alternatively, the methanol extract may be evaporated to near dryness, redissolved in water, and analyzed by IC to identify the sensitizer. An intact sample can also be extracted with water using either a small homogenizer or ultrasonic agitation to disrupt the gel structure. Microspheres float on the surface and are removed for examination by SEM-EDX to characterize the manufacturer. Spot tests and IC identify ammonium, calcium, and nitrate ions in the water extract. Flake aluminum, if present, is identified as described above. 

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