Although the other applications are important, by far the greatest bulk of elemental nitrogen is consumed in the manufacture of nitrogen compounds. Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol n and atomic number 7. Nitrogen compounds ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are often released on mine sites during the detonation of nitrogenbased explosives, including ammonium. Handbook of industrial hydrocarbon processes, 2011.
It is used as a fertilizer, as a freezing mixture, in safety explosives, matches. Pdf the explosive chemistry of nitrogen a fascinating journey. Haberbosch nitrogen n has been increasingly used in industrial products, e. Nitrogen compounds at mines and quarries teknologian. Globally, the main consumers of explosives in industrial applications include unit ed states 31%. It is a white crystalline solid and is highly soluble in water. Alchemists knew nitric acid as aqua fortis strong water, as well as other nitrogen compounds such as ammonium salts and nitrate salts. Military applications are excluded from this discussion. The formation of explosive chlorinenitrogen compounds during the. The combined nitrogen is washed into the soil and there taken up by plants, whence it passes into circulation in the animal world. Investigative report on chemistry 301a cylinder explosion pdf. The formation of the explosive compound ncl3 during the reaction of ammonium. Nitrogen compounds 3 inflame wood or straw if poured upon them in quantity, and, consequently, is always technically transported in glass balloons, with a packing of sand or kieselguhr. Nitrogen compounds an overview sciencedirect topics.
A practical treatise on the manufacture, properties, and. Compounds of nitrogen have three major applications namely. The mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids was known as aqua regia royal water, celebrated for its ability to dissolve. This is a mixture of potassium nitrate, carbon and sulfur. The role of industrial nitrogen in the global nitrogen. Nitrogen compounds during the reaction of ammonium compounds with chlorine. A practical treatise on the manufacture, properties, and industrial uses of nitric acid, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, ammonium salts, cyanides, cyanamide, by geoffrey martin 1917 english pdf. Industrial nitrogen compounds and explosives nitrogen. Nitrogen compounds used as explosives and propellants one of the earliest uses of a nitrogen compound as an explosive was potassium nitrate, also called saltpeter, used in gunpowder. It is usually only sent by special trains, much in the same way that explosives are sent. Nitrogen fixation, any natural or industrial process that causes free nitrogen. Industrial nitrogen compounds and explosives free download as pdf file. For ammonium nitrate and fuel oil anfo mixtures, a fuel oil content of more than 5.
Pdf the chemistry behind explosives is marked with the omnipresence of the element nitrogen. Nitrogen compounds have a very long history, ammonium chloride having. It is predominantly used in agriculture as a highnitrogen fertilizer. It has the chemical formula nh 4no 3, simplified to n2h4o3. Detonation occurs when the rate of chemical decomposition is greater than the speed of sound. The triple bond between atoms in the nitrogen molecules is so strong 226 kilocalories per mole, more than twice that of molecular hydrogen that it is difficult to cause molecular nitrogen to enter into other. An excess of oxygen causes more nitrogen oxides and less carbon monoxide and other unburned organics.
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound, the nitrate salt of the ammonium cation. Manuals of chemical technology111 industrial nitrogen compounds and explosives a practical treatise on the manufacture, properties, and industrial uses of nitric acid, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, ammonium salts, cyanides, cyanamide, etc. American conference of governmental industrial hygienists. Nitrogen compounds have a very long history, ammonium chloride having been known to herodotus. It is the major constituent of anfo, a popular industrial explosive which. Chemistry of explosives explosives are chemical mixtures or compounds that, when subjected to heat, impact, or shock, are capable of undergoing a rapid decomposition that releases heat and gases, which, in turn, expand to form high pressures. Ammonia is utilized in many industrial operations, as for example in the.