Ammonium nitrate, explosion hazard

Nitrous gases originating from the combustion units in nitric acid plants carry small amounts of unreacted ammonia, NH3. The ammonia may react with the nitrous gas to form microscopic particles of ammonium nitrate that adhere to solid surfaces. Within a short time, there is a growing layer of ammonium nitrate salt covering the internal surface of the nitrous gas compressor (Figure 4-27). This layer can obstruct the flow passages because it tends to increase the power consumption, provoke excessive vibrations, and even present a safety hazard since ammonium nitrate explosions can occur. 

Texas City Disaster. See under Ammonium Nitrate Explosions, Fires and Hazards in Vol 1, A359-L to A362-L... 

Ammonium Nitrate Dynamite (AND) (American and European Types) A355 to A356 Ammonium Nitrate Explosions, Fires and Hazards A357 to A363 Ammonium Nitrate Explosives of Spencer Chemical Co A354 (table)... 

Incompatibility may result in a loss of effectiveness or may be very hazardous. For example, -> Chlorate Explosives and -> Ammonium Nitrate Explosives are not compatible (formation of self-decomposing ammonium chlorate). For compatibility testing - Vacuum Test. 

Another whole area I left out was ammonium nitrate explosions. This hazard was one that we seemed to have learned about in the twentieth century, with major accidents at Oppau, Germany in 1923, and in Texas City in 1947. However, there have been at least two major ammonium nitrate explosions causing multiple fatalities in the twenty-first century the Toulouse AZF explosion (France, 2001) and the West explosion (Texas, 2013). We seem to keep forgetting about the hazardous nature of ammonium nitrate, perhaps because it is such a commonplace fertilizer. 

Safety Considerations. Ammonium nitrate can be considered a safe material if treated and handled properly. Potential hazards include those associated with fire, decomposition accompanied by generation of toxic fumes, and explosion. 

Many plants outside of North America pfill or granulate a mixture of ammonium nitrate and calcium carbonate. Production of this mixture, often called calcium ammonium nitrate, essentially removes any explosion hazard. In many cases calcium nitrate recovered from acidulation of phosphate rock (see Phosphoric acid and the phosphates) is reacted with ammonia and carbon dioxide to give a calcium carbonate—ammonium nitrate mixture containing 21 to 26% nitrogen (23). 

It is strongly recommended that our procedure1 not be used to prepare guanidine nitrate. Mixtures of ammonium nitrate and organic materials not much different from the mixture in the procedure are now used extensively as commercial explosives. The aqueous mixture of Note 101 is similar to some aqueous mixtures used in sizable quantities for rock blasting a confined mixture of this sort is especially hazardous. Only a few laboratories devoted to explosives research have the barricades and remote control devices needed to run this preparation of guanidine nitrate without risk. 

For civilian aircraft the facility for rapid starting is not important and cartridge operation is not often employed, particularly because it involves storing and handling explosives, even though the hazards of these explosives are those of fire and not of detonation. For military purposes, however, particularly for fighter aircraft which are best scattered on an airfield, a rapid start is of considerable importance. Therefore cartridge operated starters are much used for these aeroplanes. In Britain, development has been essentially with propellants based on ballistite, namely double base propellants of the solventless type, whereas in the United States composite propellants based on ammonium nitrate have proved more popular. 

According to an O.S. amendment sheet, the procedure as described [1] is dangerous because the reaction mixture (dicyanodiamide and ammonium nitrate) is similar in composition to commercial blasting explosives. This probably also applies to similar earlier preparations [2]. An earlier procedure which involved heating ammonium thiocyanate, lead nitrate and ammonia demolished a 50 bar autoclave [3], TGA and DTA studies show that air is not involved in the thermal decomposition [4], Explosive properties of the nitrate are detailed [5], An improved process involves catalytic conversion at 90-200°C of a molten mixture of urea and ammonium nitrate to give 92% conversion (on urea) of guanidinium nitrate, recovered by crystallisation. Hazards of alternative processes are listed [6],... 

Ammonia, Ammonium nitrate, Diphenyl carbonate Buzard, J. et al., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1952, 74, 2925-2926 During the synthesis of 15N-labelled urea by interaction of labelled ammonium nitrate, liquid ammonia and diphenyl carbonate in presence of copper powder, a series of explosions of the refrigerated sealed tubes was encountered. This was almost certainly caused by condensation of traces of oxygen in the tubes cooled to — 196°C dining condensation of ammonia before sealing the tubes. Cooling to —80°C would have been adequate and have avoided the hazard. 

USEPA, 1997. Explosion Hazards From Ammonium Nitrate, EPA 550-F97-002d, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, December 1997. 

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