Ammonium nitrate

Use in explosives

Ammonium nitrate has found many uses as a strong oxidizer, primarily as a component of explosives. In this case, it is mixed with a hydrocarbon, usually Diesel fuel (oil) or, less commonly, kerosene. Because of the ready availability in bulk of the raw materials, ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) mixtures have occasionally been used for improvised bombs, for example by the Provisional IRA and in the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. It is also used in military explosives such as the daisy cutter bomb, and as a component of amatol. It has also found use as a solid rocket propellant, though ammonium perchlorate is frequently considered preferable due to higher performance and faster burn rates.

Related Topics:
Oxidizer - Explosive - Hydrocarbon - Diesel fuel - Kerosene - Fuel oil - ANFO - Bomb - Provisional IRA - Oklahoma City bombing - Timothy McVeigh - Terry Nichols - Daisy cutter - Amatol - Solid rocket - Ammonium perchlorate

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Fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) is manufactured in more compact form, with much lower porosity, in order to achieve more stability and less sensitivity to detonation, while technical grade ammonium nitrate (TGAN) granules are made to be porous for better absorption of fuel and higher reactivity.

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