Sandia Labs Researcher Develops Fertilizer Without the Explosive Potential

cylonlover writes "Ammonium nitrate is a commonly used fertilizer, but when mixed with a fuel such as diesel, it makes a powerful explosive – as seen in last week's fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. But it's the deliberate use of the compound in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and acts of terror such as the Oklahoma City bombing that gives rise to even greater cause for concern. This is why Kevin Fleming, an optical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, developed a fertilizer alternative that isn't detonable and therefore can't be used in a bomb."

Comments

Acidifies soils

[bill_mcgonigle]

According to the article it acidifies soils which the author finds good for areas with alkaline soils. And he says that some areas of Afghanistan have alkaline soils. Fine, but unless Afghanistan is unlike the rest of the world, some areas will have alkaline soils and some have acidic soils. I happen to have acidic soils on my farm and would never use a fertilizer that would further decrease the pH. We have plenty of iron in the soils here already too.

The cost increase may be low, but they cannot argue that with the added materials and logistics, the cost will be the same in places that already have ammonium nitrate fertilizers in use. Perhaps where their crony governments force farmers to buy calcium carbonate fertilizer it would be cost neutral.

But until hunger is eliminated in the world and all the world has healthy food to eat, governments have no business increasing the cost of food. Far more than 180 have died due to malnutrition since the Murrah building. Governments could trying sticking to courts, police and defense if they want to minimize the incidence of terrorism. And maybe help out with world hunger if they just can't stand sitting on their hands.

Re: Useless ....

[oodaloop]

Intelligence analyst from JIEDDO here. True there are other household chemicals that can be used in IEDs. But Ammonium Nitrate is produced in such mass quantities that it provides a ready source of IED material. There are caches found with 20,000 lbs plus of AN, and it's produced just over the border in Pakistan by several fertilizer companies. If the fertilizer companies were to switch to something else, it would put a damper on the sheer size of the IED problem. Yes, over time they could switch, and we'll follow suit and limit the availability of that chemical next. But we're not going to throw our hands up and do nothing because there are "way too many household chemicals."

all the tanks are intact; not a BLEVE

[SuperBanana]

Look st the post-explosion photos and you'll see that the anhydrous ammonia tanks are all intact. They're hard to miss - they're virtually the only thing left standing. BLEVE explosions obliterate the tanks they occur in and throw massive amounts of shrapnel.

Sorry, chief. It was an ammonium nitrate explosion. It was not a BLEVE (note the correct spelling.)

Re: Useless ....

[oodaloop]

Thanks for demonstrating you know nothing whatsoever about the problem. We have in fact asked the major suppliers of AN to adjust their practices to minimize how much AN is stolen or siphoned off for IEDs, and they've been very sooperative. They don't like having their name connected with terrorism on the international news every day. And the price of AN has gone from about $4.00 per 40lbs bag early in the war to over $100 per bag recently due to various efforts to curtail its use in IEDs. But thanks for playing.