What went wrong 05 August 2020 16:51 in Lebanon after the deadly explosions that took place in the early hours of Tuesday in Beirut, leading to the death of more than 113 people and injuring thousands of civilians.
As everything shows, the explosion was the result of 2,750 tons of ammonia nitrate that had been seized in 2014 and had been stored since then in a warehouse in the port of the Lebanese capital.
What is ammonium nitrate With the chemical formula NH4NO3, ammonia nitrate (or ammonium nitrate) is found in large deposits in the Atacama desert of Chile from where it is mined. Today, however, almost 100% of this chemical used is synthetic and produced by reacting ammonia with nitric acid.
It is a dry fertilizer that is mixed with other fertilizers such as phosphate and used in crops to enhance plant growth. It is relatively stable and inexpensive to produce, which makes it more popular than other more expensive fertilizers.
It is also a key component of an industrial explosive used in ore mining, quarrying and civil construction and accounts for 80% of all industrial explosives used in the US. It can ignite under certain conditions and prove fatal.
May become explosive Special conditions are required to convert ammonium nitrate from a stable compound to an explosive without fuel or external catalyst. It is classified as an “active material”, which produces heat as it decomposes, just as heat is produced by rotting materials in the composting process. If sufficient ammonia nitrate is present, it can generate enough heat to catch fire and fuel it, without the need for an external catalyst such as flames.
As it burns, ammonia nitrate undergoes chemical changes that lead to the production of oxygen, which in turn fuels the fire. Ammonia Nitrate and Terrorism Because of their low cost and availability chemical fertilizers have been used to make bombs. Ammonia nitrate works as an engine for an explosion, but requires a detonator and fuel.
The first thing that happens when a chemical fertilizer bomb goes off is the detonator. The energy produced causes the ammonia nitrate to vaporize which instantly turns it into a gas.
Ammonium and nitrate molecules dissolve and a large amount of oxygen gas is suddenly formed. The gas released from the decomposing compost is what causes the biggest explosion. The rapid release of oxygen along with the energy from the blast wave ignites the fuel.
When liquid fuel is ignited, it burns quickly and releases even more gas.
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