Explosives nitroglycerin

Ethylene glycol is widely used as an antifreeze. Glycerol is formed as a byproduct in making soaps. It is a viscous, sweet-tasting liquid, used in making drugs, antibiotics, plastics, and explosives (nitroglycerin). 

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. 

Nitroglycerine is a very powerful secondary explosive with a high brisance, i.e. shattering effect, and it is one of the most important and frequently-used components for gelatinous commercial explosives. Nitroglycerine also provides a source of high energy in propellant compositions, and in combination with nitrocellulose and stabilizers it is the principal component of explosive powders and solid rocket propellants. 

R, Yokogawa et al, Highly Explosive Nitroglycerin Explosives , JapP 71-40160 (1971)... 

Secondary Explosives Nitroglycerin Pentaerythritol tetranitrate Trinitrotoluene Ethyleneglycol dinitrate Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (Hexogen or Cyclonite) Cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine (Octogen)... 

The substitution reaction of nitric acid with glycerol produces the explosive nitroglycerine. Alfred Nobel s (1833-1896) discovery in 1866 that this very sensitive material could be made into a safe explosive by absorbing it into diatomaceous earth or wood meal led to his development of dynamite. 

Ethylene glycol is antifreeze and glycerol is a humectant. Glycerol can be converted into the explosive nitroglycerin. 

Nitroglycerin is a heavy, colorless, oily liquid, which has a sweet taste and, as ordinarily prepared, a pale yellow color. It freezes at about 8°, melts at about 12°, and explodes when, heated to 180°. Small quantities burn in the open air without explosion. Nitroglycerin is very sensitive to shocks, and can readily be exploded by a sharp blow. It is a powerful poison, resembling strychnine somewhat in its physiological effects. It is used as a remedy in heart disease, and is injected into the blood in cases of poisoning by carbon monoxide or water-gas. 

Whether it is a -C-NO2, -O-NO2, or -N-NO2 link, all these structural features yield substances that are high explosives. Nitroglycerine, cyclonite, pentaerythrytol tetranitrate, tetryl, trinitrobenzene, trinitro-tolnene, and pentanitroaniline are examples of high explosives. The terms high explosives and low explosives are used for qualitative comparisons only. The explosive power of chemicals or their compositions is determined by their brisance and detonation velocity (see. Part A in Section IV). 

Reference soil was collected in a reference site in Elorence (Italy). Real soil samples were collected in the Associated National Chemical Companies (ACNA) site (Cengio, SV, Italy). ACNA is a closed organic chemical industrial factory active since 1882 with the production of explosives (nitroglycerin, dynamite, and trinitrotoluene), paints, nitric and sulphuric acids, phenols, and amines, with serious levels of contamination of soil and surface waters, where a remediation and bonification plan started in 1999. The serious enviromnental contamination of this area determined its inclusion in the list of national priorities for enviromnental reclamation. The sampling was performed from the soil layers (0-30 cm) in a specific ACNA site, called hill n°5, on March 2003. The hill was made of waste from the industry accumulated during the years and was divided into four zones zone 1 with low contamination level zone 2 with pseudoreference zone 3 with moderate pollution level, and zone 4 with high ecological risk. 

An explosive is a substance which undergoes a very rapid chemical reaction in which gas is produced. The volume of gas produced is large compared with the bulk of the explosive, and the gas escapes so rapidly that a pressure wave is set up in the surrounding air - this causes the bang. For example, the explosive nitroglycerine (Fig. 13.7) decomposes according to the overall equation... 

Nitroglycerin (NG) is one of most widely used liquid explosives, but also an important mining explosive. Nitroglycerin was applied for mining by Alfred Nobel who is a Swedish engineer [46], which led to the development of nitrate. Nobel established the first factory of oil explosive in 1862 and used nitro and sulfonitric acid to generate Nitroglycerin that can be extracted from water-alcohol solution. 

Many common explosives are organic molecules that contain nitro (NO2) or nitrate (NO3) groups attached to a carbon skeleton. The Lewis structures of two of the most familiar explosives, nitroglycerin and trinitrotoluene (TNT), are shown here (resonance structures are not shown for clarity). TNT contains the six-membered ring characteristic of benzene. 

Glycerol Saccharomyces cerevisiae Production of explosives (nitroglycerin, dynamite)... 

The structures of the mineral acids suggest that replacing one or more OH units will lead to acid derivatives. Esters are possible for all three mineral acids. Nitric acid gives a nitrate ester, 197. Nitrate esters are often unstable, and the trinitrate ester of glycerol (198) is the well-known explosive nitroglycerin. However, highly specialized nitrate esters are known to relax vascular smooth muscle, which leads to vasodilation (relaxation of the muscle wall of blood vessels that leads to widening of those vessels), and they are important compounds used in the treatment of heart disease. Nonetheless, nitrate esters will not be discussed further or used in this book. Amide derivatives O3N-NR2 are known as nitramides, but they will not be discussed. 

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