History

NH₄NO₃

The first man to synthesis ammonium nitrate, Johann R. Glauber.

Discovery
The quest for a bigger and beter explosive has led to many famous and important scientific discoveries, one of which being ammonium nitrate. It all began with the development of saltpeter, a nitrogenous ingredient found by alchemists to be explosive when added to other ingredients. This led to the creation of gun powder by the Chinese which was later used in guns, cannons, and fireworks. In order to create a faster reaction, scientists developed high explosives by mixing nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms at the atomic scale. Nitroglycerine is just one of the first high explosives and its high sensitivity was tamed by Alfred Nobel when he created dynamite. Dynamite is still used, but has now been replaced widely by ammonium nitrate.

Fritz Haber won the Nobel Prize in 1918 for forming the ammonia synthesis process.

Ammonium nitrate was first synthesized by Johann R. Glauber in 1659 when he combined ammonium carbonate and nitric acid, but the ultimate power of the explosive was not discovered until the end of World War I. Throughout the war, ammonia synthesis plants were built and used in Germany to supply the country with explosives. The plants were able to form ammonia by using the the Haber-Bosch process

Carl Bosch won the Nobel Prize in 1931 for industrializing and discovering a catalyst for Haber's process.

developed by Nobel Prize winner, Fritz Haber and later industrialized by Nobel Prize winner, Carl Bosch. The process combined hydrogen and nitrogen under extreme high pressure to form ammonia. At the end of the war, a large surplus of ammonium nitrate was left when the first ammonia synthesis plant was closed down. A huge pile of the compound was stored in an open field; in attempts to break apart the pile for removal, explosives were drilled into holes in the pile. Contrary to what was expected, the whole mound detonated with a blast of 4,500 tons, killing 600 people. There have been two other famous incidents where ammonium nitrate was the source of great destruction: Texas City and Oklahoma City.

Texas City, Texas

The ammonium nitrate explosion of Texas City.

On April 16th 1947, a French freighter named the SS Grandcamp attempted to dock in Texas City, Texas on the Galveston Bay. The ship was making a delivery of ammonium nitrate fertilizer when the deck of the ship caught fire. Oblivious to the dangers of ammonium nitrate, the crew continued to dock. Later that morning, the freighter exploded creating a tidal wave that enveloped the shore and an explosion at kiloton scale. Many refineries that were located on the waterfront also caught on fire and continued to burn for 6 days after the explosion. It was estimated that a total of 567 people were killed, but it is believed that this number underestimates the total amount of casualties from this incident.

Oklahoma City Bombing

The Murrah Building after the terrorist bombing.

On April 19th, 1995, the United States saw yet again the dangers of ammonium nitrate. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City fell victim to a terrorist bombing. A truck bomb containing large amounts of ammonium nitrate fertilizer was detonated creating an explosion that killed 168 and injured hundreds more people. This bombing caused a national crisis because the safety of the nation was threatened by the possibility of future attacks.