Fertilizers ammonium nitrate

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. 

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer incorporates nitrogen in both of the forms taken up by crops ammonia and nitrate ion. Fertilizers (qv) containing only ammoniacal nitrogen are often less effective, as many important crops tend to take up nitrogen mainly in the nitrate form and the ammonium ions must be transformed into nitrate by soil organisms before the nitrogen is readily available. This transformation is slow in cool, temperate zone soils. Thus, ammonium nitrate is a preferred source of fertilizer nitrogen in some countries. 

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer was priced at about 137/t in bulk in June 1991. The DOT label required is OXY the United Nations number is UN... 

Table 1 Mortality from cancer of the stomach and other causes between 1 January 1946 and 28 February 1981 among 1327 male workers in a factory making ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Deaths observed compared with deaths expected from statistics for workers in comparable jobs in the locality. Statistics for heavily and less heavily exposed workers combined ...

AMMONIUM NITRATE FERTILIZER (NITROGEN/POTASH OR PHOSPHATE) 2071 ... 

AMMONIUM NITRATE FERTILIZER, uith less than 0.2X COMBUSTIBLE 1942 ... 

The Grandcamp was loaded with 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, 29,000 bales of sisal twine, 9.334 bags of shelled peanuts, automobile.s, trucks, and agricultural machinery, oil. 

Nitric acid is one of the most used chemicals. The 1994 U.S. production was approximately 17.65 hillion pounds. It is a colorless to a yellow liquid, which is very corrosive. It is a strong oxidizing acid that can attack almost any metal. The most important use of nitric acid is to produce ammonium nitrate fertilizer. 

Applies to straight ammonium nitrate fertilizers which comply with Directive 80/876/EEC and to compound fertilizers where the nitrogen content derived from the ammonium nitrate > 28% by weight (a compound fertilizer contains ammonium fertilizer together with phosphate and/or potash). 

In general, improvised explosives are too complicated to prepare or too weak for steel cutting and most other sabotage tasks. However, if the problem is to get a quantity of lower velocity explosive for cratering or moving a large volume of earth or rock, a good simple one can be prepared from ammonium nitrate fertilizer. 

CAN [calcium ammonium nitrate] A process for making calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Developed by BASF (hence the alternative process name BASF/CAN) and engineered by Uhde. 

A lire disaster costing 67 million occurred in Texas City, Texas, on the SS Grandcamp (16 April 1987) due to spontaneous ignition of stored fertilizer in the ship s hold. A release of steam from an engine leak caused the atmosphere of the ammonium nitrate fertilizer to be exposed to temperatures of 100 °C. Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) decomposes exothermically releasing 378 kJ/g mol. Its rate of decomposition can be described by the Arrhenius equation ... 

Cotterill [100] studied the effect of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on the electron capture or nitrogen specific gas chromatographic determination of Triazine plus other types of herbicide (Atrazine(2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino, 1,3,5 triazine), Simazine (2-chloro-4.6 bis ethyl amino 1,3,5 triazine), Linuron (3,4,-chlorophenyl-l-methoxy-l-methyl urea), Metribuzin, Triallate and Phorate) residues in soil. 

As above. While charging aluminum pig to a remelting fiimace, an explosion took place. An investigation could find no definite cause, but the pigs had been shipped in railroad cars which had ammonium nitrate fertilizer. It is also possible that water had become entrapped in some pigs... 

The expl may also be agitated at room or elevated temp with hydroxides of alkali or alka-line earth metals (pref calcium hydroxide) with or without application of pressure (Ref 4) [See also Ammonium Nitrate, Fertilizer Grade (FGAN) in Vol 1 of Encycl, p A364]... 

See AMMONIUM NITRATE, FERTILIZER GRADE in Vol 1, pp A364-L to A367-L and also pp A359 R to A362-L... 

AN, see "Ammonium Nitrate Explosives and Propellants" and. also "Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer"... 

Urider Preparation of Fertilizer Grade Ammonium Nitrate. This process has not been used for making ammonium nitrate fertilizer since 1948, as mentioned above... 

Texas, Disaster, Fire Prevention Engrg Bur of Texas, Dallas, Tex The Natl Board of Fire Underwriters, New York(l947) 55 G.Armistead,Jr, "The Ship Explosions at Texas City, Texas, on April 16 and 17, 1947 and their Results", Washington, DC 56)Anon, "The Texas City Disaster , Natl Fire Protection Assoc Quarterly, 41, No 1, July 1947, 25-57 57)Anon, US Coast Guard, "Rept of Interagency Comm on Hazards of Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer in Transportation on Board Vessels", Part 1(1947)... 

In conclusion it may be said that currently produced American FGAN, as well as some other ammonium nitrate fertilizers, can explode when confined and subjected to heat, impact or initiation by powerful detonators or boosters... 

References on Ammonium Nitrate, Fertilizer Grade (FGAN) I)G.Rosendahl, ChemZtr... 

H.Rinkenbach, PATechDiv Lecture, "Explos-ihility of Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer (Feb 1948) 19)K.G.Ottoson, PATR 1682, Marl948... 

FGAN same as Ammonium nitrate fertilizer grade 1 A359-A362, A364-A367... 

STENGEL PROCESS. A method of making ammonium nitrate fertilizer from anhydrous ammonia and nitric acid. The fertilizer panicles can be made in different sizes according to use. 

Terrorists often use ammonium nitrate fertilizer as an ingredient in car bombs. When ammonium nitrate explodes, it decomposes to gaseous nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor. The force of the explosion results from the sudden production of a huge volume of hot gas. 

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