Ammonium nitrate properties

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). 

S. R. Brinkley and W. E. Gordon, "Explosive Properties of the Ammonium Nitrate-Fuel Oil System," in Proceedings of 31st Inst. Congress of Industrial Chemisty, Liege, Belg., 1958. 

Oxidizers. The characteristics of the oxidizer affect the baUistic and mechanical properties of a composite propellant as well as the processibihty. Oxidizers are selected to provide the best combination of available oxygen, high density, low heat of formation, and maximum gas volume in reaction with binders. Increases in oxidizer content increase the density, the adiabatic flame temperature, and the specific impulse of a propellant up to a maximum. The most commonly used inorganic oxidizer in both composite and nitroceUulose-based rocket propellant is ammonium perchlorate. The primary combustion products of an ammonium perchlorate propellant and a polymeric binder containing C, H, and O are CO2, H2, O2, and HCl. Ammonium nitrate has been used in slow burning propellants, and where a smokeless exhaust is requited. Nitramines such as RDX and HMX have also been used where maximum energy is essential. 

L. Asaoka, Phase Stabili d Ammonium Nitrate Effects on Minimum Signature Propellant Properties, Vol. 5, 3 CPIA Pubhcation 550, Anaheim, Calif., 1990. 

Table 4. Properties of Urea Ammonium Nitrate Nonpressure Solutions...

Acidic Properties. As a typical acid, it reacts readily with alkaUes, basic oxides, and carbonates to form salts. The largest iadustrial appHcation of nitric acid is the reaction with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate. However, because of its oxidising nature, nitric acid does not always behave as a typical acid. Bases having metallic radicals ia a reduced state (eg, ferrous and staimous hydroxide becoming ferric and stannic salts) are oxidized by nitric acid. Except for magnesium and manganese ia very dilute acid, nitric acid does not Hberate hydrogen upon reaction with metals. 

Physical and Chemical Properties. Ammonium nitrate is a white, crystalline salt, df = 1.725, that is highly soluble in water, as shown in Table 3 (7). Although it is very hygroscopic, it does not form hydrates. This hygroscopic nature compHcates its usage in explosives, and until about 1940, was a serious impediment to its extensive use in fertilizers. The soHd salt picks up water from air when the vapor pressure of water exceeds the vapor pressure of a saturated aqueous ammonium nitrate solution (see Table 4). 

Exothermic Decompositions These decompositions are nearly always irreversible. Sohds with such behavior include oxygen-containing salts and such nitrogen compounds as azides and metal styphnates. When several gaseous products are formed, reversal would require an unlikely complex of reactions. Commercial interest in such materials is more in their storage properties than as a source of desirable products, although ammonium nitrate is an important explosive. A few typical exampes will be cited to indicate the ranges of reaction conditions. They are taken from the review by Brown et al. ( Reactions in the Solid State, in Bamford and Tipper, Comprehensive Chemical Kinetics, vol. 22, Elsevier, 1980). 

Unloaded silica does not recover HPA from aqueous solution. The surface of silica gel modified with quarternary ammonium salts (QAS) gets anion-exchange properties. The aim of the work is the elaboration of solid-phase reagents on the base of ion associate of HPA with QAS immobilized onto silica surface for the determination of phosphoms and organic reductants. Heterocyclic (safranine and lucigenine) and aliphatic (trinonyloctadecyl ammonium iodide and tetradecyl ammonium nitrate) compounds have been examined as QAS. 

Test suspect materials for undesired properties, (e.g., endothermic compounds, compounds containing oxidizing and reducing group such as ammonium nitrate)... 

Ammonium Nitrate Plant 7. Prill lower reduce microprill formation and reduce carryover of fines through entrainment. 8. Materials handling where feasible use covers and hoods on conveyors and transition points. Good cleanup practices must be in place to minimize contamination of stormwater mnoff from the plant property. 9. Granulators reduce dust emissions from the disintegration of granules. 

Seiyama, The Dielectric Properties of and Phase Transitions in Ammonium Nitrate , KogyoKagakuZasshi 71 (11), 1821-27 (1963)... 

When analysing the resulte it is noticed this time that criterion C4 is the least severe of the four CHETAH criteria. It emphasises the unstable property of nitroaniline but under mates the instability of ammonium nitrate and ammonium dichromate for which there is no indication of danger whatsoever. 

It will be clear from the above that the optimum types of oxidising materials are those of highest density and dense forms of ammonium nitrate are always used. The combustibles can be dense also, although it is sometimes necessary to add at least a proportion of the combustible in an absorbent form to ensure adequate sensitiveness. Wheat flour may be regarded as typical of a dense combustible woodmeal is a useful and cheap combustible of intermediate properties. 

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. 

Further properties which a detonating fuse should have are the ability to initiate blasting explosives (tested with suitable relatively insensitive mixtures usually of TNT and ammonium nitrate) resistance to low temperatures without cracking on flexing and to hot storage without desensitisation and toughness to prevent damage from stones, etc. The fuse must always be waterproof and must often withstand diesel oil, which can separate from ANFO. 

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],... 

Grafting and networking may modify the mechanical, chemical, and functional properties of polymers and enhance their utilization for some purposes, such as for water treatment (Kumar and Verma, 2007 Mishra et al., 2003). Psyllium derivatives were prepared by grafting acrylonitrile onto psyllium molecules using a ceric ammonium nitrate and nitric acid system (Mishra et al., 2003). The resulted grafted psyllium samples were not soluble in commonly used solvents or their combinations. In 2007, methacrylic acid derivatives of psyllium were prepared using ammonium persulfate as initiator and cross-linked using N,N-methylenebisacryla-mide as the crosslinker (Kumar and Verma, 2007). The modified psyllium... 

---