Safety Testing of Ammonium Nitrate Products

Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, CAN, Thermal cycling, Detonation tests, Safetytesting.

Summary:

In 2005 the European Fertilizer Manufacturers Association (EFMA) established a research project on safety testing of fertiliser grade AN, CAN and AN with gypsum, and of technical grade AN. A series of large scale detonation tests, the largest with 28 tonnes of products, were carried out to examine the safety properties of the products and to validate the parameters used in advanced detonation simulation modelling. The results are used for providing guidelines on safe storage and separation distances between stacks of AN-products. The project was carried out by the Dutch research institute TNO. This paper presents the results of the study.

Ronald Kersten, Esther van den Hengel and A C van der Steen, TNO Defence, Security and Safety, PO Box 45, 2280 AA, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.

14 pages, 2 tables, 10 references.