Methyl ammonium nitrate
Encyclopedia
Methylammonium nitrate is an explosive chemical with the molecular formula CH6N2O3, alternately CH3NH3+NO3-. It is the salt formed by the neutralization of methylamine
with nitric acid
. This substance is also known as methylamine nitrate and monomethylamine nitrate, not to be confused with methyl nitramine or monomethyl nitramine.
Methylammonium nitrate was first used as an explosive ingredient by the Germans during World War II
. It was originally called mono-methylamine nitrate, a name that has largely stuck among chemists who formulate energetic materials.
Methylammonium nitrate is somewhat similar in explosive properties to ammonium nitrate (AN) which yields 85% of the power of nitroglycerine when the ammonium nitrate is incorporated into an explosive. The addition of the carbon-containing methyl group
in methylammonium nitrate imparts better explosive properties and helps create a more favorable oxygen balance.
Following World War Two, relative to less costly ammonium nitrate, methylammonium nitrate was largely ignored by explosives manufacturers. Ammonium nitrate fuel-oil mixtures (ANFO) were sufficient for most large-diameter explosives uses.
Methylammonium nitrate saw a resurgence when E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, seeking to lower the cost of its TNT-based "Tovex" water gels, incorporated a mixture of methylammonium nitrate with ammonium nitrate which served as a basis for DuPont's water gels manufactured under the names "Tovex" "Extra" and "Pourvex" "Extra". Methylammonium nitrate, also known as PR-M (which stands for "Potomac River - Mono-methylamine nitrate") soon was seen as the possible path toward creating a low cost blasting agent (water gel explosives) that might replace the explosives based on nitroglycerin (dynamites).
In late 1973, DuPont started to phase out dynamite and replace it with water gels based on PR-M. However, PR-M proved to have unusual "mass effects". That is, if there was sufficient mass, under certain conditions, PR-M could explode without warning. On August 6, 1974, a tank car containing PR-M blew up in Wenatchee, Washington, rail yard, killing two and injuring 66 others. On July 4, 1976, a PR-M storage with 60,000 pounds of PR-M detonated at DuPont's Potomac River Works at Martinsburg, WV. Though there was no loss of life, there were many injuries and a substantial loss of property. Within two years, DuPont moved out of water gel explosives.
Methylamine
Methylamine is the organic compound with a formula of CH3NH2. This colourless gas is a derivative of ammonia, but with one H atom replaced by a methyl group. It is the simplest primary amine. It is sold as a solution in methanol, ethanol, THF, and water, or as the anhydrous gas in pressurized...
with nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
. This substance is also known as methylamine nitrate and monomethylamine nitrate, not to be confused with methyl nitramine or monomethyl nitramine.
Methylammonium nitrate was first used as an explosive ingredient by the Germans during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was originally called mono-methylamine nitrate, a name that has largely stuck among chemists who formulate energetic materials.
Methylammonium nitrate is somewhat similar in explosive properties to ammonium nitrate (AN) which yields 85% of the power of nitroglycerine when the ammonium nitrate is incorporated into an explosive. The addition of the carbon-containing methyl group
Methyl group
Methyl group is a functional group derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms —CH3. The group is often abbreviated Me. Such hydrocarbon groups occur in many organic compounds. The methyl group can be found in three forms: anion, cation and radical. The anion...
in methylammonium nitrate imparts better explosive properties and helps create a more favorable oxygen balance.
Following World War Two, relative to less costly ammonium nitrate, methylammonium nitrate was largely ignored by explosives manufacturers. Ammonium nitrate fuel-oil mixtures (ANFO) were sufficient for most large-diameter explosives uses.
Methylammonium nitrate saw a resurgence when E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, seeking to lower the cost of its TNT-based "Tovex" water gels, incorporated a mixture of methylammonium nitrate with ammonium nitrate which served as a basis for DuPont's water gels manufactured under the names "Tovex" "Extra" and "Pourvex" "Extra". Methylammonium nitrate, also known as PR-M (which stands for "Potomac River - Mono-methylamine nitrate") soon was seen as the possible path toward creating a low cost blasting agent (water gel explosives) that might replace the explosives based on nitroglycerin (dynamites).
In late 1973, DuPont started to phase out dynamite and replace it with water gels based on PR-M. However, PR-M proved to have unusual "mass effects". That is, if there was sufficient mass, under certain conditions, PR-M could explode without warning. On August 6, 1974, a tank car containing PR-M blew up in Wenatchee, Washington, rail yard, killing two and injuring 66 others. On July 4, 1976, a PR-M storage with 60,000 pounds of PR-M detonated at DuPont's Potomac River Works at Martinsburg, WV. Though there was no loss of life, there were many injuries and a substantial loss of property. Within two years, DuPont moved out of water gel explosives.