The effect of cellulose derivatives on the phase transition and thermal behavior of ammonium nitrate

Abstract

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is a cheap oxidizer, which is widely used in chemical industries, fertilizers, industrial explosives, military explosives and propellants. It shows low reactivity, high hygroscopicity and polymorphic phase transitions in ambience condition where these behaviors can limit its application as an oxidizer in solid propellants. Since AN provides low decomposition temperature, maximum gas per unit weigh and non-toxic products, it is usually used as an oxidizer in gas generators. In this work, the effect of cellulose derivatives on the phase transition and thermal behavior of AN has been investigated in order to extend its uses in smokeless and environmentally safe solid gas generators. Thermal behaviors of AN/cellulose derivative matrixes, AN/KNO3 and AN/KF have been studied by the simultaneous application of thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry. Moreover, a suitable computer code has been used to study the theoretical exhaust gases and mass of solid residues. The results suggest that cellulose acetate can be introduced as a good candidate for removing inappropriate phase transitions of AN.