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Typically ammonium nitrate needs some type of fuel to detonate. In the Texas City explosion there was ample hydrocarbons in direct contact with the AN to suppo

by jcims 6y ago

Typically ammonium nitrate needs some type of fuel to detonate. In the Texas City explosion there was ample hydrocarbons in direct contact with the AN to support the reaction. I’m curious if there is any speculation what provided the fuel in this case. Maybe they were coated prills?

GeorgeWBasic 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to be explosive: it's explosive on its own, fuel just makes it more efficient.
- jcims 6y ago
  Thanks for the info! I had no idea.
refurb 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate is a high explosive all on it's own, but not a very good one. It's a very insensitive explosive and tends to absorb water from the atmosphere, so fuel oil is added to make it a more efficient and stable explosive.
- jcims 6y ago
  Thanks for the info!!!
jandrewrogers 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to detonate. Even if you add heavy diesel, you will still be need to use the same boosters (usually PETN) that you would use for pure ammonium nitrate to achieve reliable detonation. Ammonium nitrate has a positive stoichiometric oxygen balance when it detonates so it is typically mixed with chemicals with a negative oxygen balance (such as heavy diesel) to inexpensively improve explosive performance. It has nothing to do with making it detonate. While ammonium nitrate is quite difficult to detonate at room temperature, it becomes considerably less stable as it approaches its melting point, which is relatively low. Sensitivity can also be increased chemically but that requires significant effort and intent.
- jcims 6y ago
  Wow, for some reason I always thought if it as a pure oxidizer (obviously not a chemistry expert here) and had no idea that it could detonate on its own. Great info, thank you!!!
  - cricalix 6y ago
    The US CSB video[0] on the incident at West, Texas is worth watching. Every video they do is worth watching to understand how processes can fail. 0: https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-west-texas/ https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-we...
    - ekimekim 6y ago
      Their website was itermittently 500ing for me, but the video was just embedded from youtube anyway so here's a direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4
- thdrdt 6y ago
  In a lot of videos you can see a fire next to the storage facility. It was also a very hot day. So most people believe the temperature in the storage raised enough to make the ammonium nitrate unstable. Melting point: 169.6 °C

by jcims 6y ago

GeorgeWBasic 6y ago

Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to be explosive: it's explosive on its own, fuel just makes it more efficient.

jcims 6y ago
Thanks for the info! I had no idea.

refurb 6y ago

Ammonium nitrate is a high explosive all on it's own, but not a very good one. It's a very insensitive explosive and tends to absorb water from the atmosphere, so fuel oil is added to make it a more efficient and stable explosive.

jcims 6y ago
Thanks for the info!!!

jandrewrogers 6y ago

Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to detonate. Even if you add heavy diesel, you will still be need to use the same boosters (usually PETN) that you would use for pure ammonium nitrate to achieve reliable detonation. Ammonium nitrate has a positive stoichiometric oxygen balance when it detonates so it is typically mixed with chemicals with a negative oxygen balance (such as heavy diesel) to inexpensively improve explosive performance. It has nothing to do with making it detonate. While ammonium nitrate is quite difficult to detonate at room temperature, it becomes considerably less stable as it approaches its melting point, which is relatively low. Sensitivity can also be increased chemically but that requires significant effort and intent.

jcims 6y ago
Wow, for some reason I always thought if it as a pure oxidizer (obviously not a chemistry expert here) and had no idea that it could detonate on its own. Great info, thank you!!!
- cricalix 6y ago
  The US CSB video[0] on the incident at West, Texas is worth watching. Every video they do is worth watching to understand how processes can fail. 0: https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-west-texas/ https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-we...
  - ekimekim 6y ago
    Their website was itermittently 500ing for me, but the video was just embedded from youtube anyway so here's a direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4
thdrdt 6y ago
In a lot of videos you can see a fire next to the storage facility. It was also a very hot day. So most people believe the temperature in the storage raised enough to make the ammonium nitrate unstable. Melting point: 169.6 °C