Nitro explosives nitroglycerine

Nitrogen-explosive compounds usually analysed by CL may be classified under three structural categories (i) nitroaromatic compounds, (ii) nitrate esters and (iii) nitramines. Examples of nitro-substituted hydrocarbons are nitromethane, trinitrobenzene (TNB), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and pentantiroaniline. Nitroglycerine (NG), ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN) and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) are nitrate esters [5], The nitro-explosive compounds that are the result of the presence of nitro and nitrate groups can... 

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. 

In comparison with nitroglycerine nitro compounds give a powder with a lower temperature of explosion that produces less erosion and flash. Powders containing nitro compounds with nitroglycerine were later adopted in the USSR... 

Nitro Compounds, Feuer H. Nielsen A. T. (Eds), New York, VCH, 1990, 315 The crude product is too explosive to be worked up. Analogy with other olefins indicates that the final product will be ethylene glycol dinitrate, a known explosive though safe enough to have largely replaced nitroglycerine. That will be preceded by 1,2-dinitroethane and nitratonitroethane, more sensitive if less powerful. 

Other explosives, discovered in the nineteenth century, were nitroglycerine, a liquid that is absorbed in a solid to make dynamite, and nitrocellulose, a solid that produces less smoke (smokeless powder). They are made by heating glycerine and cellulose with nitric acid, a process that adds nitro (-NO2) groups. Another important explosive is trinitrotoluene, made by heating (very carefully) toluene in nitric acid,... 

Smokeless propellants may be taken as another example of composite explosives. These may be either mixtures of nitrocellulose of differing degrees of nitration, partly in a colloidal and partly in a fibrous state with an admixture of the remaining solvent and a stabilizer or a solution of nitrocelluloses in carbamite (centralite) and nitroglycerine with an admixture of components such as aromatic nitro compounds, nitroguanidine, graphite etc. 

As can be seen, the gelatinous explosives of the Nobelite type, safe in the presence of methane, contain a small amount of calcium nitrate solution. Calcium nitrate was added to Nobelites to reduce the temperature of the flame of explosion. After World War I, small quantities of calcium nitrate in the form of a concentrated aqueous solution were added to the milled nitroglycerine powder (from the post-war surplus) used as a rock explosive. This was done to counteract dustiness e.g. Nitro-glycerinpulver 1 explosive had the following composition ... 

Dynamite explosives of novel type ( Nidin ) with nitroglycerine and nitro-glycol mixtures seem to be particularly popular. 

In some countries, especially during World War I when nitroglycerine was in short supply, it was partly replaced by aromatic nitro compounds, e.g. liquid DNT (a liquid mixture of DNT and TNT isomers). Partial replacement of nitroglycerine by nitro compounds also reduced the erosive effect of the powder by lowering the heat of explosion and the flame temperature during explosive decomposition. 

In the U.S.S.R. a type of solventless powder was introduced in which organic nitro compounds, e.g. DNT, partly replaced the nitroglycerine. DNT acts as a non-volatile solvent and as a stabilizer. Since it also reduces the heat of explosion these powders are either flashless or partly so. 

Nitroglycerine as a solvent. The capacity of nitroglycerine to dissolve aromatic nitro compounds has been studied for its practical importance, since blends of nitroglycerine with nitro compounds often form the base components of high 1 explosives, as for example dynamites and smokeless powders. Investigating systems... 

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