| Global production was estimated at 21 | The following occur under atmospheric pressure |
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| Molten ammonium nitrate is very sensitive to shock and detonation, particularly if it becomes contaminated with incompatible materials such as combustibles, flammable liquids, acids, chlorates, chlorides, sulfur, metals, charcoal and sawdust | Explosions are not uncommon: relatively minor incidents occur most years, and several large and devastating explosions have also occurred |
Ammonium nitrate was mined there until the made it possible to synthesize nitrates from atmospheric nitrogen, thus rendering nitrate mining obsolete.
18| Chemical compound Ammonium nitrate is a with the chemical formula | The fire must be confined at least to a degree for successful transition from a fire to an explosion |
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| Ammonium nitrate is not hazardous to health and is usually used in fertilizer products | 28 February 2018 at the —• The resulting heat and pressure from decomposition increases the sensitivity to detonation and increases the speed of decomposition |
One practical consequence of this is that ammonium nitrate formed as propellant develops cracks, leading to the development of phase stabilized ammonium nitrate PSAN , which incorporates metal halides as stabilisers.
26| An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants | It should not be stored near combustible substances |
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| Ammonium nitrate can explode through two mechanisms:• The prills or granules may be further dried, cooled, and then coated to prevent caking | It also was used, in combination with independently explosive "fuels" such as , as a cheaper but less stable alternative to in the inflators of manufactured by , which were recalled as unsafe after killing 14 people |
Disasters [ ] Main article: Ammonium nitrate decomposes, non-explosively, into the and when heated.