View the product label for Aluminum Nitrate 60% Solution from Mineral Research and Development. And just five years ago, an estimated 800 tons of ammonium nitrate fueled a warehouse explosion that leveled part of a port in the Chinese city of Tianjin, killing 173. Al 2 (SO 4) 3 + 3 Ba(NO 3) 2 → 2 Al(NO 3) 3 + 3 BaSO 4. "The energy given out is what you get as explosive power.". blast and producer gas furnaces produce wastewater streams contam-inated with cyanide mater1als. "It is generally kept under controlled conditions and modified volumes to minimize chances of explosion," says Brent Kaiser, a plant biologist at the University of Sydney. Aluminium nitrate may also be prepared a metathesis reaction between aluminium sulfate and a nitrate salt with a suitable cation such as barium, strontium, calcium, silver, or lead. The Associated Press contributed to this article. âIt will oxidize that fuel very rapidly, create a huge amount of gas, and give off a huge amount of heat. Ammonium nitrate would only explode on its own if its temperature was rapidly raised to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse linked to catastrophic Beirut explosion Beirut was declared a "disaster city" by authorities on Wednesday, in the wake of a … Aluminium nitrate is a strong oxidizing agent. When combined with fuel and oil, ammonium nitrate creates a potent explosive widely used in the construction industry. Moreover, the decomposition of ammonium nitrate can create byproducts known as nitrogen oxides, which are known to cause respiratory distress. The blast filled Beirutâs air with particulate matter, one of the most common forms of air pollution. Connect with friends faster than ever with the new Facebook app. Injuries surpassed more than 5,000; the blast destroyed 500 homes and the smoke from it billowed for days. A giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter Grandcamp at a pier in Texas City, Texas, on April 16, 1947. The likely cause of the huge blast in Beirut on Tuesday appears to have been the highly reactive chemical ammonium nitrate. As Lebanon's investigation into the devastating blast in Beirut continues, officials have pointed to a possible cause: A massive shipment of agricultural … It can explode after exposure to contaminants or fuel oil and then heated, which sets off a cascade of reactions. The shipment was eventually abandoned, and its cargo moved into the hangar where it remained, despite Lebanese custom officials requesting its disposal on at least six different occasions, according to The New York Times. The ensuing explosion killed some 600 people, including everyone on the dock and ship. Measurements of detonation velocity were performed. Ammonium nitrate is the fertilizer compound that can be used in explosives, said John Goodpaster, who researches explosives at Indiana at University-Purdue University Indianapolis. âThereâs a massive amount of energy given off very quickly,â says Stephen Beaudoin, a chemical engineer also at Purdue University. Blast calculations suggest that at sea level, an explosion like Beirutâs would require about 1,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. The telltale signs of … "What happened today will not come to pass without accountability," Diab said. "This is clearly a very significant explosion, and the reported number of deaths is likely to be far higher than currently identified," said David Caldicott, a senior clinical lecturer in medicine at the Australian National University. It's also an explosive compound and is used around the world in mining and construction operations requiring detonations. In the Beirut explosion, the resulting shockwave moved faster than the speed of sound; cell phone videos show the impact washing over the city a few seconds before a sonic boom rumbles. The chemical compound was used to make explosives for the … The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt across the city. âItâs relatively difficult to make pure ammonium nitrate go off unless you add things to it and cook it in a giant fire,â says Davin Piercey, a chemist at Purdue University. Bags containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer are dispalyed in an agricultural trader in Vieillevigne, France, October 7, 2016. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/08/deadly-history-ammonium-nitrate-explosive-linked-to-beirut-blast.html, math pioneered in the 1940s to infer the atomic bombâs yield. Look closely at footage of downtown Beirut, and you can see the ground warp and buckle just after the blast erupted from the warehouse on August 4. … Annually, the world produces and stores enormous amounts of ammonium nitrateâmore than 20 million tons in 2017. Beirut mayor Marwan Abboud told Agence France-Presse that 300,000 people are unable to return to their homes, as the damage covered half the city and could cost up to $15 billion to repair. It's not clear what else may have been ignited or exploded in the blast -- or what was stored at the docks -- but Prime Minister Diab is expected to make this information known "soon," according to The Guardian. Documents unearthed by Al Jazeera say the ammonium nitrate arrived in Beirut aboard a Russian-owned cargo ship after the vessel experienced mechanical problems at sea. Such investigations may take time. So what is ammonium nitrate, why is it explosive and why do we use it? Though Lebanese authorities have said ammonium nitrate was the culprit in the blast, Lewis notes that in many cases commercial explosives are referred to as just this compound even though they contain additives. Because of ammonium nitrate's explosive potential, countries and unions impose strict regulations on how to store and process it. Burning ammonium nitrate in an open field, for instance, isn't likely to result in an explosion, Rae said. But for the compound to figure in an explosion of this magnitude, chemists and explosives experts say a lot has to go wrong. Ammonium nitrate, which is used in fertilizers and bomb making, is a salt made from ammonium and nitric acid, and it is highly explosive. In 2015, explosions partly caused by the detonation of around 800 tons of ammonium nitrate rocked the Beijing port of Tianjin, killing 173 people. The huge change in phase creates a shockwave.â. An explosion rocked Beirut on August 4. Then, the ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in a blast so powerful it shook the ground for hundreds of miles and registered as an earthquake … On paper, ammonium nitrate is highly regulated in India. Lebanese Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said it appeared that stocks of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be used in bombmaking, had exploded. Additionally, in the explosion, not all of the ammonium nitrate is used up and exploded. Since 1916, the chemical has been responsible for at least 30 disasters, some accidental and some intentional. It's these gases that are responsible for the red-brown plume of smoke seen in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion, Rae said. Lebanese authorities are blaming the incident on more than 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, a substance commonly used in fertilizers as well as in explosives for mining and construction projects. 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