Patent ID: 6902637

Claim:
A process for preparing a free-flowing, phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate, said process comprising the following steps: preparing a solution of ammonium nitrate, a surfactant, an inert liquid, and an ammonium nitrate phase stabilizer, said ammonium nitrate, said surfactant, and said phase stabilizer being soluble in said inert liquid, the amount of surfactant in said solution being about 0.01% to about 0.15% based on the combined weight of the ammonium nitrate and the surfactant; atomizing the solution to form a stream of droplets, the droplets having an average diameter of about 50 μm to about 100 μm; freezing said stream of droplets by contacting said stream of droplets with an outer surface of a drum, said surface being maintained at temperature below the freezing point of said solution by passing a cooling medium through the interior of the drum; sublimating the frozen droplets to remove the inert liquid from the frozen droplets and form agglomerates of the phase stabilized ammonium nitrate; and disintegrating the agglomerates into separated free-flowing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate crystals coated with a film comprising a surfactant.