Nitroglycerine ammonium nitrate

Industrial. Nitric acid is itself the starting material for ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerin [55-63-0] trinitrotoluene [118-96-7]., nitroceUulose [9004-70-0] and other nitrogen compounds used in the manufacture of explosives (see Explosives and propellants). Nitric acid is made by oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen dioxide [10102-44-0] which is subsequently absorbed by water. 

Nitric acid is one of the most important industrial chemicals in the world. Its largest use is in the fertdizer industry for producing various nitrate fertd-izers. Such fertilizers include ammonium-, sodium-, potassium-, and calcium nitrates. Other major apphcations of nitric acid are in making nitrates and nitrooganics for use in explosives, gunpowder, and fireworks. Ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerine, nitrocellulose, and trinitrotoluenes are examples of such explosives, while barium and strontium nitrates are used in fireworks. 

Type I—dynamites and rock explosives. The chief ingredients of the latter are ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerine and TNT. Their rate of detonation at a density of 1.1 is about 3800m/sec, their transmission distance 6 cm. 

Because the technique relies on thermal decomposition of nitro-containing explosives, and no prior chromatographic separation is performed, no chemical information of the studied material is obtained. Currently, the unit will alarm on compounds such as RDX, PETN, TNT, urea nitrate, ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerine, EGDN and DMNB. 

An important advance in dynamite was the substitution of ammonium nitrate for part of the nitroglycerin to produce a safer and less expensive explosive. Nobel made this new dynamite successful by devising gelatins that contained from 20 to 60 percent ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate was too hygroscopic, hence, work began to develop a nongelatinous form., The solution, found in 1885, was coating ammonium nitrate with a little paraffin to produce a series of ammonia dynamites,... 

Of the eight nonmetals listed in Table 21.1, nitrogen is by far the least reactive. Its inertness is due to the strength of the triple bond holding the N2 molecule together (B.E. N=N = 941 kj/mol). This same factor explains why virtually all chemical explosives are compounds of nitrogen (e.g., nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene, ammonium nitrate,... 

Uses The largest use is in the manufacture of fertilizers. It is also used to make one of the raw materials for nylon, virtually all gunpowder and explosives (nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, TNT, ammonium nitrate, etc.) and the starting materials for polyurethane elastomers and paints. 

Ammonium nitrate is the cheapest source of oxygen available for commercial explosives at the present time. It is used by itself in conjunction with fuels, or to give more sensitive explosives in admixture with solid fuels and sensitisers such as nitroglycerine and TNT. It is, therefore, a compound of particular importance for the explosives industry. 

Nitroglycerine /nitroglycol TNT Ammonium nitrate Sodium nitrate Cellu- losic Alumin- ium Oil Nitro- cellulose Other... 

Control of exudation depends mainly on the suitable choice of the nitrocellulose used. Some lack of uniformity in this product is certainly desirable. This offers no serious difficulty, although it is necessary to ensure a constant watch on manufacturing processes to see that quality is maintained. In other gelatine explosives, particularly those containing ammonium nitrate, exudation can be induced by slow chemical reaction. The addition of alkalis, for example, can liberate ammonia which in turn can react with nitrocellulose and cause it to lose its power of binding nitroglycerine. Such effects are accelerated at high temperatures and under wet conditions and it is usual practice to test all explosives under such adverse conditions before they are put on the market. 

This base is used to the minimum possible extent in the final explosive as the water it contains does not contribute to the power and indeed requires energy for its evaporation. All slurry explosives therefore contain further ammonium nitrate in solid form and also a fuel for combustion. The ammonium nitrate is usually in dense form similar to that used in nitroglycerine explosives as this gives the best physical properties. However, it is common practice to mix the explosive hot so that much or all of the solid ammonium nitrate results from crystallisation during cooling. 

Before nitrates and particularly ammonium nitrate were readily available commercially, explosives were developed based on chlorates and perchlorates. These also are still used in some countries. In general perchlorates are considered less dangerous than chlorates and therefore preferred. They are easily sensitised, so that in addition to explosives of this type based on nitroglycerine, others have been based on various organic liquids, particularly nitrobodies. History shows that chlorates and perchlorates must be regarded as temperamental substances, liable in bulk to lead to inexplicable accidents. Particularly when mixtures of chlorates and oxidising materials are allowed to become wet and then dry out, conditions can arise in which there is an appreciable sensitiveness to friction and impact. Explosives of this type have an unfortunate record of accidents. They are used, therefore, to a limited extent only, now that safer compositions are available. 

Ammon gelignite. A nitroglycerine gelatine explosive containing ammonium nitrate as the main oxidising ingredient. 

AN, ammonium nitrate HMTD, hexamethylene triperoxide diamine HMX, C4H8N8O8 NG, nitroglycerin PETN, pentaerythritol tetranitrate RDX, CsHgNgOg TATP, triacetone triperoxide ... 

Table 4.1 gives the use profile for ammonia. It can be applied directly for fertilizer or made into other nitrogen-containing compounds used for fertilizer such as urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and nitric acid. Overall approximately 80% of ammonia has an end use as fertilizer. Explosives, a second important end use, made from ammonia are ammonium nitrate and, via nitric acid, the nitroglycerin used in dynamite. Chemical intermediates include acrylonitrile and caprolactam, which eventually go into fibers. 

Nitric acid has a 65 25 fertilizer explosive end use ratio. The production of ammonium nitrate makes up nearly all of these two uses. The other 10% is made into miscellaneous compounds adipic acid, nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, ammonium picrate, trinitrotoluene, nitrobenzene, silver nitrate, and various isocyanates. 

Nitroglycerin, Ammonium oxalate, Nitrocellulose, Wood meal, Sodium nitrate Nitroglycerin, Potassium nitrate, Nitrocellulose, Ammonium oxalate. Wood meal Nitroglycerin, Sodium nitrate. Nitrocellulose, Wood meal. Potassium nitrate Ethylenediamine, Nitric acid. Ethanol Nitric acid. Ethanol, N,N -Diethanolethylenediamine Ammonium nitrate. Water, Oil, Oleic acid. Sodium hydroxide... 

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