History and the Anarchist Literature

To make an IE the oxidizer must be combined with a suitable fuel. The majority of fuels available for use in IEs are hydrocarbons (materials containing mostly carbon and hydrogen). These materials are often referred to as organic compounds due to their prevalence in living organisms. Potential fuels can be broken down into three categories hydrocarbons, energetic hydrocarbons, and elementals.  

The category of pure hydrocarbons has too many materials to list. Anything that is typically burned to produce heat or energy can be applied as a fuel for an IE mixture. Some high-profile examples would include petroleum products such as diesel fuel and kerosene, plant- and animal-based oils, sugars, glycerin, wax/paraffin, sawdust/wood pulp, Vaseline, shellac, and rosin. 

The elemental fuels applicable to IE production are not as obvious as the hydrocarbons described above and simply have to be learned and memorized. Those most prevalent are powdered metals (aluminum, magnesium, titanium), carbon disulfide, phosphorus, sulfur, and antimony sulfide. One important side note is that, for the most part, these elemental fuels produce IE formulations that are very sensitive and often unstable. Mixtures incorporating any of them should be treated with extra caution. 

In 1871 Herman Sprengel patented a series of mining explosives that consisted of an oxidizing substance mixed with a fuel. The novelty of this approach was 

Over the years, numerous formulations were prepared based on HNO3. Usually, fuming nitric acid (HNO3 90% in water) was utilized in their preparation. Some historically significant formulations were  

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