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Explosives and Propellants: Power to Breach Mountains, Wage war and Visit the Moon
Published in Richard J. Sundberg, The Chemical Century, 2017
Germany adopted TNT for artillery shells in 1902. The German chemical industry was able to produce TNT from toluene obtained from coal tar. Although a less powerful explosive than picric acid, it was much easier to manufacture and use in shells. TNT is easy to cast as a melt and is very stable in the cast form. Its main drawback is that it is difficult to detonate and requires a “booster.” At the beginning of WWI, the Germans had a great advantage in artillery as a result of both the size of their guns and the amount and quality of ammunition available. As this became apparent, the British switched to TNT. TNT production was increased from 20 t/week in 1914 to 1000 t/week by 1916. Both the French and British also imported large amounts of TNT made by DuPont. TNT mixed with NH4NO3, known as Amatol, was also put into production. The optimized method for production of TNT uses step-wise nitration in a circulating pump system. The nitrating acid mixture and toluene are introduced into the pump and part of the reaction product is drawn off and separated by gravity into the organic and acid layers. The acid can be recycled after increasing its strength and the partially nitrated toluene is sent through successive reactors. The final product is washed with water, sodium sulfite solution, and again by water. It is dried by hot air and finally processed from the molten state. Tetryl, which is N-methyl-N,2,4,6-tetranitroaniline, and a close chemical relative of picric acid, was also used in artillery shells during WWI. Tetryl is too sensitive to use alone as an explosive, but can be used in a combination with TNT that is called Tetrylol.
In Situ Remediation of TNT Red Water Contaminated Soil: Field Demonstration
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2022
Wenjie Xu, Quanlin Zhao, Zhengfang Ye
Nitroaromatic explosives may penetrate into the soil and aquatic environment during their production, storage, use, or disposal. The nitroaromatic explosives detected in soil include 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexogen (RDX), octogen (HMX), dinitrotoluene (DNT), nitrotoluene (MNT), dinitrobenzene (DNB), tetryl, picric acid, and their by-products (He et al. 2019; Lewis, Newcombe, and Crawford 2004). Soil contamination by explosives has been reported worldwide. The US Army estimated a total of 1.2 million tons of contaminated soil in the USA. The magnitude of explosives contaminated soil in other countries is similar (Kober, Hollert, and Frohme 2019; Panagos et al. 2013). Concentration of TNT in soil up to 87,000 mg·kg−1 was stated (Odmc 1999). In China, about 1.5 × 105 m3 soil was contaminated by TNT red water which contained mainly dinitrotoluene sulfonates (DNTS), TNT, DNT, MNT, and other nitrobenzene derivatives (Bui and Minh 2021; Ludwichk et al. 2015; Xu et al. 2019). DNTS concentration was reported up to 1000 mg·kg−1 (Zhao et al. 2021). These nitroaromatic explosives are toxic and exhibit human mutagenic and carcinogenic potential by ingestion, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, and intramuscular routes (Meyers et al. 2007). Thus, managing sites contaminated with nitroaromatic explosives are a global problem and of great importance.
Degradation of RDX, TNT, and HMX during EPA 8330B Sample Processing and Analysis of Soils under Hydrated Lime or Dithionite-Based Chemical Remediation
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2019
Marc-Olivier Turcotte-Savard, Sylvie Brochu
Analyses were conducted using a Hewlett Packard HP-1100 Series High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a Supelcosil LC-18 column (25 × 3 mm packed with 5 µm particles). The column was maintained at 30°C. Methanol/water (50:50) was used as the eluent at a 0.6 mL/min flow rate. The sample injection volume was 42.0 µL. The photodiode array (PDA) detector allowed analyses at four specific wavelengths for optimal light absorption of each analyte, or group of analytes: 214 nm (nitroglycerin); 230 nm (HMX, RDX, 1,3,5-TNB (1,3,5-trinitrobenzene), tetryl, TNT, ADNTs (amino-dinitrotoluenes)); 245 nm (1,3-dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB), dinitrotoluenes (DNTs) such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene and 2,6-dinitrotoluene); 275 nm (nitrotoluenes (NT) such as 2-nitrotoluene (2-NT), 4-nitrotoluene (4-NT), and 3-nitrotoluene 3-NT). A sample changer with refrigerated sample tray keeping samples in the dark at 4.0°C was used. Agilent OpenLab software suite was used to operate the HPLC and acquire data. Data from the HPLC analyses are presented in the supplementary materials.