Talk:Ammonium nitrate

message: Under "Health Hazards" the sentence "Ammonium nitrate is not an extremely hazardous chemical" is very misleading, as it ignores its reactivity, explosive properties, and health hazards. In addition, MSDS sheets are not standardized nor reliable definitive sources of information about chemicals. Thus, an MSDS sheet should not be used to represent this chemical as "not extremely hazardous"  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.34.246.81 (talk) 20:46, 18 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: This could be clarified simply by saying "ammonium nitrate is not extremely hazardous by itself."  While MSDS sheets are not standardized, they comply with regulations.Phmoreno (talk) 00:59, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Danger Level

message: a few weeks ago, the melting point was listed as 169 deg. celcius.  Now it's 191.  Which is it?
Statue2 20:25, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The table at the end of the article, under the heading Crystalline Phases, contains the correct value, 169.6 degrees. I have changed the 191 to 169.6. Thank you for noticing. Snezzy (talk) 07:18, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Melting Point

message: Someone should add the information about the differrent level of higroscopicity for the differrent cystaline formations.This would be nice.Sorry for my bad English,I am learning it now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.201.78.78 (talk • contribs) on 22 April 2007. -- Jokes Free4Me (talk) 16:13, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Note that it's spelled hygroscopy. -- Jokes Free4Me (talk) 16:13, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Higroscopicity 

message: Is there evidence of use in fireworks?  My understanding is it makes a poor pyrotechnic oxidizer, and is rarely used.  Also, my reasonably thorough knowledge suggests it is *not* used in model rockets at all, and only occasionally used in experimental / amatuer rockets.  Usually potassium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate are used instead.
Although ammonium nitrate is used for slower burn rate rockets. When ammonium nitrate is combined with binder and magnesium in the correct ratios a good rocket propellant is formed.
The slower burn rate does not really effect smaller scale rockets and ammonium nitrate's longer burn rate means the fuel burns for longer propelling the rocket futher.
Well, it depends on your definition of fireworks and poor are, it makes some pretty nice explosives, and smoke bombs if used properly granted it's probably the poorest, but it does make a pretty decent improvised explosive and smokescreen.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.186.143.153 (talk) 05:01, 27 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fireworks 

message: As someone knowledgeable about this subject, I will make the following comment and have edited the page.  
The article stated that manufacturing ammonium nitrate (AN) is "quite easy".  Actually, it could be considered "simple" but not easy at all.  You have to react nitric acid and ammonia, which is a very exothermic and violent reaction.  This gives you an AN solution of around 83% strength.  Then, to make the solid AN, you have to evaporate the water, giving AN "melt" of between 95 and 99.9% AN concentration, which then must be converted to solid "prills" or granules by other simple but not easy processes.  All in all, it is a very equipment and capital-intensive process, and should NEVER BE ATTEMPTED BY AMATEURS OR IN IMROVISED EQUIPMENT!
Again, it is simple in concept and in regards to chemistry, but by no means easy.  In the fertilizer industry, it is considered one of the more difficult processes to make a good commercial product.
I am a person with over 15 yrs experience in the industry, having visited nearly every AN plant in N and S America, as well as a few in other parts of the world.  I also have extensive laboratory experience in working with AN.
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(the history of AN was also removed)   History:
Ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3, is prepared by neutralising nitric acid with ammonia, or ammonium carbonate, or by double decomposition between potassium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. It can be obtained in three different crystalline forms, the transition points of which are 35 °C, 83 °C and 125 °C. It is easily soluble in water, a considerable lowering of temperature taking place during the operation; on this account it is sometimes used in the preparation of freezing mixtures.
On gentle heating, it is decomposed into water and nitrous oxide. Berthelot showed in 1883 that if ammonium nitrate is rapidly heated the following reaction takes place with explosive violence: 2NH4NO3 → 4H2O + 2N2 + O2.
In combination with gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbons it is a widely used industrial explosive, being particularly useful in open pit mining and is known as ANFO. The detonation rate is about 3000 feet per second (900 m/s); relatively slow compared to other high explosives, which detonate at over 25,000 ft/s (7,600 m/s), (1,000 m/s as a general minimum, though any material capable of detonation can be considered a high explosive). This explosive combines the advantages of low cost and stability, requiring a high velocity explosive primer to begin detonation. It is sometimes used in small packets to break up snow cornices in avalanche control.
Ammonium nitrate confined in large quantities (such as might be found in a ship's cargo hold) can detonate explosively if combined with hydrocarbons and heated sufficiently by a fire. A fire in a ship carrying ammonium nitrate waterproofed with wax was the cause of a devastating explosion resulting in the Texas City, Texas disaster.. On July 28, 1987 two teenage boys mixed zinc dust, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride from one of their father's lab. Water hit their pile and started a violent fire. The fire destroyed 6 homes and killed one of the boys.
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:(I removed the leading spaces from the anonymous author's above four paragraphs so that they would be easily visible and not stick off to the right of the screen.) Snezzy (talk) 07:06, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Manufacturing of Ammonium Nitrate 

message: Does anyone have references for the use in synthesis of methamphetamine?  I know of no reputable source suggesting it is / can be / has been used for such. Evand 14:39, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Perhaps not the right type of source, but at least chemically knowledgeable: Org Prep Daily describes a 'shake-and-bake' reduction as involving lithium metal, ammonium nitrate, and sodium hydroxide, in ethyl ether, with small amounts of water. Apparently the mechanism is a Birch reduction, and one of the motivations was that additives have been added to agricultural liquid ammonia that stop it being used.Tslumley (talk) 07:54, 17 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Meth synthesis 

message: Mass production is for fertilizer (not explosives article induces to) --138.89.56.7 18:42, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Other uses and production. 

message: It took 80,000 pounds of Ammonium Nitrate to blow the 47 central support columns in 1 world trade center 1, which created a vacuum for the building to fall into. Cs-137 05:07, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Controlled Building Demolition

message: Ammonium nitrate is an important compound of particulate matter. Because it easily evaporates, it is hard to measure using gravimetry (losses while the air flows through filter).
Oderbolz (talk) 12:40, 3 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Particulate Matter / evaporation

message: I noted in the fertilizer section of the article that a temporary ban in northern Ireland was mentioned.  I am aware that it is currently banned as a fertilizer in Canada because of its use in explosives.  Dose anyone know if it is also banned in other countries?  It would be helpful if someone has sources on this and could update the section on fertilizer.
Ndklassen (talk) 01:08, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Leagal Availibility of AN 

message: This last line should be removed:
Ammonium nitrate is believed to have been the explosive material responsible for the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas on 17 April, 2013.[19]
I have only heard rumors that ammonium nitrate was present at the site. The Dallas News article linked at footnote 19 makes no mention of ammonium nitrate.
Becalmed (talk) 03:52, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: There is a difference in saying that the ammonium nitrate production process caused the explosion or some part of the process exploded.  I do not know what products this plant made or the processes used, but any number of things can go wrong that would cause an explosion.  All it takes is some sort of malfunction or operator error that mixes the wrong chemicals or air gets mixed with combustibles, especially if pressurized, or the temperature of a reactor gets out of control.  If there was an ammonium nitrate product storage area involved then that would be at least part of, but not necessarily all of what exploded.  Eventually we will get more details, but it is premature for anyone without inside knowledge to blame ammonium nitrate.Phmoreno (talk) 11:00, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  It is a little premature to blame the West, Texas explosion on Ammonium Nitrate 

message: Source: http://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/viewFile/58897/58626
It is mentioned peripherally. A much worse accident occured two years later.
Another source: 
Another Aetna Explosion 
Sept. 23,1916 
McDonald PA Outlook 
The Oakdale Explosion
Not so severe as reported, yet, a deplorable disaster
The explosion Friday evening of last week in the Aetna Chemical plant at Oakdale while not so bad as at first reported, was, everything considered, the worst accident that has yet occurred in the Robinson valley. Five men were literally blown into fragments, a number of others in the immediate vicinity of the building were more or less injured and the property loss to the plant will probably reach four or five thousand dollars. The force of the explosion was mainly directed upwards, and large pieces of debris were thrown as far as a half a mile away. In the confusion that followed, the plant being in total darkness, great difficulty was encountered on the part of the rescuers and physicians, and the real extent of the disaster was not discovered until daylight next day. After all the wreck had been cleared up the five bodies were finally assembled, the records were carefully gone over, and it was found that all of the men employed in that section of the plant were accounted for. Following are the men who lost their lives...  
Another document (note incorrect state):
4 CIRCULAR 7 19, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
the cargo containing 4,230,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate stored in 3 compartments. In 2 of the compartments or already removed to the adjacent lighters all casks, containing 1,944,500 pounds of ammonium nitrate, were destroyed, but those (2,077) in the third compartment were unloaded after the fire, mostly in sound condition. There was no explosion, despite the fierceness of the fire. Explosions occurred at the Oakdale, N. J., plant of the Aetna Powder Co. on September 15, 1916; at the du Pont plant, Gibbstown, N. J., on January 14, 1916; and at the T. A. Gillespie Loading Co. plant, at Morgan, N. J., on October 4, 1918; all three explosions occurred during the manufacture of ammonium nitrate,- apparently starting in crystallizing pans.
178.38.92.63 (talk) 22:40, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ammonium nitrate accident, Aetna plant, Oakdale Pennsylvania, Sept 16, 1916 

message: Substituted at 07:37, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Assessment comment

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified (January 2018) 

message: Supposedly the explosive tendency of ammonium nitrate can be greatly reduced by mixing it with ammonium sulfate. The 1:1 mixture is still fine as a fertiliser. It was done that way back in the days of the Oppau explosion (1920's) but I dunno if it's still current practice. There seem to be explosions from this stuff every few years, so it might be a relevant point to bring into the article. --Project Osprey (talk) 23:07, 4 August 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Oppau_explosion#Background describes this, but due to non-uniformity, disaster still happened. cmɢʟee⎆τaʟκ 11:03, 11 August 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ammonium nitrate sulfate 

message: The Niche Uses section says "A solution of ammonium nitrate with nitric acid called Cavea-b showed promise for use in spacecraft as a more energetic alternative to the common monopropellant hydrazine". The link to Cavea-b and the cited source both confirm that Cavea-b is a much more complicated organic compound mixed with nitric acid (the wiki page says 1,4-Diaza-1,2,4-trimethyl bicyclo[2.2.2]octane dinitrate, the source book has a diagram) Tslumley (talk) 06:15, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I came here to say exactly this. I believe those two sentences at the end of that section should be deleted, and since at least one other user appears to agree, I will remove the incorrect/irrelevant content. Lumberjane Lilly (talk) 18:06, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Niche uses -- Cavea B