Penta-erythritol tetranitrate

Matter patented detonators made by using penta-erythritol tetranitrate in conjunction with a detonating substance. 

The same MEKC system was also used for the separation of a test mixture of 15 compounds of interest in high explosive analysis, including nitroguanidine, ethylene glycol dinitrate, diethylene glycol dinitrate, l,3,5-trinitro-l,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX), nitroglycerin, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), penta-erythritol tetranitrate, and picric acid, with excellent resolution except for the overlapping of 1,5- and 1,8-isomers of dinitronaphthalene. Also, separation of all the components (26) of the two sets of standards was attempted with extremely limited coelutions. 

The one-substance explosives are nitrobenzene, m-dini-trobenzene, 1,3,5 trinitrobenzene, o-nitrotoluene, m-nitroto-luene and p-nitrotoluene, 2,3-2,4-2,5-2,6-3,4 and 3,5 dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4,6 trinitrotoluene (TNT), mononi-tro- dinitro- and trinitro-naphthalene, trinitrochlorobenzene (Picrylchloride),2,4,6trinitrophenol (picric acid),ethylengly-col dinitrate (EGDN), clycerol trinitrate (nitroglycerin, NG), penta erythritol tetranitrate (PETN), 2,4,6, A -tetranitro-A -methylamine (Tetryl), 1,3,5 trinitro-l,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX), and l,3,5,7-tetranitro-l,3,5,7-tetrazacyclooctane (Octagen,HMX).f ... 

Aubertein Rehling (Ref 15) have shown that treatment with water at approx 100° causes PETN to hydrolyze. At 125° and under pressure, hydrolysis proceeds quite quickly, and is considerably enhanced by the presence of 0.1% HNO3. Regardless of whether it occurs in water alone or in water acidified with nitric acid, the hydrolysis produces mainly Penta-erythritol Dinitrate. A dil NaOH soln causes PETN to hydrolyze.more rapidly than acidified water. PETN neither reduces Fehling s reagent nor enters into addition products with any aromatic nitro compd. In this respect it differs from both Erythritol Tetranitrate and Nitro-mannitol... 

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