Industrial explosive

Slurry explosives consist of saturated aqueous solutions of ammonium nitrate with sensitizing additives 1 31. Nitrates such as monomethylamine nitrate, ethylene glycol mononitrate, or ethanolamine mononitrate are used as sensitizers. Aluminum powders are also added as energetic materials. Table 4-19 shows a typical chemical composition of a slurry explosive. It is important to include so-called micro-bubbles in the explosives in order to give the initial detonation and produce the subsequent detonation wave. The micro-bubbles are made of glass or polymeric materials. 

Slurry explosives have anti-water and anti-humidity characteristics and are fundamentally insensitive to mechanical shock and heat. The strength of detonation is approximately equal to that of NG-NC based explosives. Since slurry explosives are a mixture of aqueous AN and oil, the physical nature is an emulsion and these are also termed emulsion explosives. 

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Table 16. Sales of Industrial Explosives and Blasting Agents in the United States, t x 10 ...

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). 

Apparent Consumption of Industrial Explosives andBlasting Agents in the United States Annual Mineral Industry Surveys. U.S. Dept, of Interior, Washington, D.C., 1989. 

Annual Proceedings of the Safety Seminars, Dept, of Defense, Explosive Safety Board, Washington, D.C. International symposia on explosives and closely related subjects are excellent sources of information, ie, international symposia on detonation symposia on combustion symposia on chemical problems connected with the stabiUty of explosives international pyrotechnics seminars symposia on compatibiUty of plastics and other materials with explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, and processing of explosives, propellants, and ingredients and symposia on explosives and pyrotechnics Mineral Industy Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Pa. Periodic pubhcations dedicated primarily to explosive studies in Propellants and Explosives Journal of Ha yardous Materials, and apparent consumption of industrial explosives and blasting agents in the United States. 

M. A. Cook, The Science of Industrial Explosives, Graphic S ervices and Supply, IRECO Chemicals, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1974. 

F. T. Bodurtha, Industrial Explosion Prevention and Protection, McGraw-HiU Book Co., Inc., New York, 1980. 

The most widely deployed industrial explosion suppressant is mono-ammonium phosphate powder (MAP). This suppressant has a wide range of effectiveness. However, it can prove to be a contaminant, necessitating stringent clean-down procedures after a suppressed explosion incident. This limitation is overcome by selecting a sodium... 

For any proposed suppression system design, it is necessary to ascribe with confidence an effective worst-case suppressed maximum explosion overpressure Pred.max- Provided that the suppressed explosion overpressure is less than the process equipment pressure shoclc resistance and provided further that this projected suppression is achieved with a sufficient margin of safety, explosion protection security is assured. These two criteria are mutually independent, but both must be satisfied if a suppression system is to be deployed to provide industrial explosion protection. 

Lee, J. H. S, Knystautas, R., and Goroshm, S. 1996. The Testing of Detonation Arresters. Proc. Inti. Symp. On Hazards Prevention and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions, pp. 7.27-7.40. Christian Michelsen Research AS, Bergen, Norway. 

Forster, H. 2001. Flame Arresters—The New Standard and the Consequences. Paper presented at the Inti. European Safety Management Group Sympos.-Process Safety and Industrial Explosion Protection, March 27-29, 2001, Nurnberg, Germany. 

Mining Explosives. See under COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVES in Vol 3, pp C434-R to 406-L, and BLASTING EXPLOSIVES in Vol 2, pp B202-L to 211-R in this Encycl... 

On the Chemical Stability of Aluminum in the Composition of Industrial Explosives , Scientific Technological Mining Soc, Blasting 52, No 9 (Russ) (1963), Tmsln WP-AFB, FTD-HT-66-254 70) A.T. Cox, Examination of... 

Non-Permissible (Amer) or Non-Permitted Brit) Explosives. See under Commercial or Industrial Explosives in Vol 3, C435-R to C437-R, and Coal Mining Explosives, Testing for Permissibility in Vol 3, C368-R ff... 

The most complete set of statistics is that published in the United States of America, which showed a total consumption of industrial explosives in 1977 of 1 680 000 tonnes. Details of the types of explosives consumed and the industries using the products are given in Tables 1.2 and 1.3 respectively. 

The monomer is volatile and tends to self-polymerise, and is therefore stored and handled cool and inhibited, with storage limited to below 6 months. Several industrial explosions have been recorded [1]. Unlike acrylic monomers, oxygen is not involved in stabilisation and is detrimental at higher temperatures [2], The polymerisation has been modelled and causes of accidents proposed [3]. 

Trinitrotoluene in contact with nitric acid and lead or iron produces explosive substances which may readily be ignited by shock, friction or contact with nitric or sulfuric acids. Such materials have been involved in industrial explosions. 

An extremely reactive liquid, solid or vapour with a dangerously high thermal capacity in both liquid and vapour state. When heated, the commonest cause of mid-19th century industrial explosions it also bursts containers on cooling to low ambient temperatures. Still a frequent cause of vapour explosions today. 

Historical data from industrial explosions are hard to accurately quantify as these can only be approximated by back calculating from observed deformations of structures. Blast overpressures from vapor cloud explosions are especially difficult to quantify because they tend to be directional, come from multiple sources, and vary with site conditions. Additionally, there is less information available than for high explosives. In one company s review of five recent vapor cloud explosion incidents, as measured at a range of 200 to 1,000 feet (60 to 300 meters), peak reflected pressures in the range from 2 psi (14 kPa) with a 35 ms duration to 12 psi (83 kPa) with a 33 ms duration have occurred. These pressures correspond to side-on overpressures ranging from 1 psi (7 kPa) to 5.5 psi (38 kPa). An extensive list of this type of explosion data is included in Lenoir 1993. 

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