4 ms·

"The tank, 50 feet high and 90 feet in diameter, contained 2.3 million gallons of molasses originally destined for use in a munitions plant." Why would a muni

"The tank, 50 feet high and 90 feet in diameter, contained 2.3 million gallons of molasses originally destined for use in a munitions plant." Why would a munitions plant need an enormous quantity of molasses? Was it used in the production of munitions?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sparky_z 5y ago
I looked into it a bit further, and apparently it was eventually going to be piped to the Purity Ethanol Plant where it would be fermented to make ethanol. The ethanol would then be used in the production of high explosives for the war effort.
- sa46 5y ago
  I was curious about the specific type of munition. It was for smokeless gunpowder: > unquenchable thirst for the industrial alcohol needed to produce cordite—a smokeless gunpowder used in ammunition and artillery shells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite
- adwn 5y ago
  Minor nitpick: They were used for low explosives (not high). See [1] for details, or [2] for a video. Surprisingly, high explosives are harder to ignite than low explosives. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive#By_velocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive#By_velocity [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWcTV2nEkU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWcTV2nEkU
  - sparky_z 5y ago
    The source I was using says clearly that the ethanol was to be used for producing high explosives. "...a small portion of molasses would be distilled into grain alcohol for rum, but most of it, more than 80 percent, would be distilled into industrial alcohol that would be used as a major ingredient in the production of munitions, especially dynamite, smokeless powder, and other high explosives." From https://archive.org/details/darktide00step/page/10/mode/2up?q=munitions https://archive.org/details/darktide00step/page/10/mode/2up?... Of the two specific examples listed, dynamite is unambiguously a high explosive. From what I can tell, smokeless powder is usually classified as low by default, because that's how it behaves during storage, shipping, and handling. But during actual use, it occupies a grey area between the two classifications. I've found several sources saying that it can act as a high explosive under the right circumstances.
    - adwn 5y ago
      I stand corrected, thank you. From a sibling comment, which stated that cordite (a low explosive) was an end product, I wrongly concluded that all end products were low explosives.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

sparky_z 5y ago

I looked into it a bit further, and apparently it was eventually going to be piped to the Purity Ethanol Plant where it would be fermented to make ethanol. The ethanol would then be used in the production of high explosives for the war effort.

sa46 5y ago
I was curious about the specific type of munition. It was for smokeless gunpowder: > unquenchable thirst for the industrial alcohol needed to produce cordite—a smokeless gunpowder used in ammunition and artillery shells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite
adwn 5y ago
Minor nitpick: They were used for low explosives (not high). See [1] for details, or [2] for a video. Surprisingly, high explosives are harder to ignite than low explosives. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive#By_velocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive#By_velocity [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWcTV2nEkU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWcTV2nEkU
- sparky_z 5y ago
  The source I was using says clearly that the ethanol was to be used for producing high explosives. "...a small portion of molasses would be distilled into grain alcohol for rum, but most of it, more than 80 percent, would be distilled into industrial alcohol that would be used as a major ingredient in the production of munitions, especially dynamite, smokeless powder, and other high explosives." From https://archive.org/details/darktide00step/page/10/mode/2up?q=munitions https://archive.org/details/darktide00step/page/10/mode/2up?... Of the two specific examples listed, dynamite is unambiguously a high explosive. From what I can tell, smokeless powder is usually classified as low by default, because that's how it behaves during storage, shipping, and handling. But during actual use, it occupies a grey area between the two classifications. I've found several sources saying that it can act as a high explosive under the right circumstances.
  - adwn 5y ago
    I stand corrected, thank you. From a sibling comment, which stated that cordite (a low explosive) was an end product, I wrongly concluded that all end products were low explosives.