Petn, explosive found on flight 253, is among most. During this time, germany produced as much as 1,440 tons of petn per month, with the usa and the ussr following suit. Disposing of a few pounds of petn explosives at wais divide field camp. Study of the fast reaction characteristics of aluminized. The sensor reaction of dcm was first characterized in molecular solution, as shown in fig. Sensitivity is a measure of the ease with which an explosive can be detonated by heat, friction or shock and of its ability to propagate that detonation. Explosive reactions there are many chemical reactions that will release energy.
For many warheads that energy is stored in the form of chemical explosives. High explosives are further categorized as primary and secondaryhigh explosive. The effect of temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction may be. A wide variety of manufacturers, distributors and service companies are featured in our extensive vertical directory to allow ease sourcing and research for petn explosives. Petn thus remained a laboratory interest until world war ii, when it was used in ammunition, bombs, and other fragmention devices. Explosive properties of erythritol tetranitrate request pdf. Although the chemical structure of etn is simple and its preparation is undemanding, this explosive is. Still manufactured on a large scale, petn remains one of the most powerful conventional explosives. It is prepared by reacting pentaerythritol c 5 h 12 o 4, an alcohol traditionally used in paints and varnishes, with nitric acid hno 2. A chemical reaction which proceeds through the material at a rate less than or equal to the speed of. Rapidity of reaction 22 distinguishes the explosive reaction from an ordinary combustion reaction by the great speed with which it takes place. Thermal decomposition of pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Study shows why common explosive petn sometimes fails by sandia national laboratories sandia researchers alex tappan left and rob knepper watch the detonation of a critical thickness experiment. How to make petn, the same explosive used by the christmas.
The decision was made to simple blow up the rest of the explosives to dispose of them, rather than go through the. Epx1 is a new plastic explosive in the research stage which has been prepared for military and civilian applications. The petn reaction will be examined as an example of thermo chemical. Tnt has a detonation velocity of 6,940 ms compared to 1,680 ms for the. Trace detection of rdx, hmx and petn explosives using a. A new method of preparing the high explosive rdx journal of the. The text on the classification of explosive materials contains much data on the physical parameters of primary.
The fast reaction characteristics of aluminized petn explosive powders have been studied successfully by means of a spectrumdetecting and recovery technique. As powders do not readily hold a shape and tnt is the only common meltcastable explosive, most of the. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate c5h8n4o12 petn was the. The critical fluence of the initiation of the explosive decomposition of pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn by the second harmonic of a neodymium laser 532 nm is found to be 12.
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate an overview sciencedirect. The explosive substance used in the air freight bomb plot was cleverly concealed inside a printer cartridge within a package, making it very difficult to detect. If the reaction proceeds slowly, the released energy will be dissipated and there will be few noticeable effects other than an increase in temperature. Full text of semtex, how to make see other formats how to make semtex semtex is a powerful explosive that is widely used by terrorists. Petn is difficult to detonate with a naked flame, as demonstrated by the shoe bomber richard reid, who tried to bring down an american airlines flight. An explosive is a material, cither a pure single substance or a mixture of substances, which is capable of producing an ex. Data are summarized from various handbooks, textbooks, and manufacturers technical data sheets. Around 500 alphabetically ordered, monographic entries consider the physicochemical properties, production methods and safe applications of over 120 explosive chemicals, while discussing 70 fuels, additives and oxidizing agents and describing the relevant test methods. After settling, excess water and acetone are decanted and the remaining petn can be filtered out after filtering, the petn was put on a.
The physical and explosive properties of erythritol tetranitrate etn are described herein. The white powder is popular with extremists because it is available on the black market and very difficult to detect at. The three explosives used, rdx, hmx and petn, are white. It is the nitrate ester of pentaerythritol, and is structurally very similar to nitroglycerin. So in this work, the 254 nm uv light was applied for the. The three explosives used, rdx, hmx and petn, are white crystalline powders and their acetonitrile solutions are transparent to visible light, absorbing mainly in the middle ultraviolet muv region. Epx1 explosive contains pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn with different particle size as explosive filler bonded by nonenergetic thermoplastic binder plasticized by dibutyl phthalate dbp. Explosive petn used in attack december 26, 2009 12. This potential energy stored in an explosive material may be chemical energy, pressurized gas or nuclear energy. Explanation of the colossal detonation sensitivity of.
Terrorists may have used hardtodetect plasticbased explosive petn in wednesdays delhi high court blast the same substance used in the underwear bomb plot on a 2009 northwest airlines flight. Petn plasticised with pib detonated agains a brick. Unless the reaction occurs rapidly, the thermally expanded gases will be dissipated in the medium, and there will be no explosion. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn, also known as pent, penta, ten, corpent, or penthrite or, rarely and primarily in german, as nitropenta, is an explosive material. The vast majority of explosives are chemical explosives. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate is an extremely powerful plastic explosive. The complaint identified the explosive as pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or petn. It is an essential nutrient for plant protein synthesis. Study shows why common explosive petn sometimes fails. The addition of an explosive ingredient, such as tnt, in sufficient quantity.
The alcohol which is necesarry to create petn was first invented 1891 from berhard tollens and peter wigand throught basic condensation. The chemistry of explosives provides an overview of the history of explosives, taking the reader to future developments. Chapter i properties of explosives an explosive is a. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate c 5 h 8 n 4 o 12 petn was the explosive meant to be used by the underwear bomber. The explosive properties of pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn, cch 2 ono 2 4 have been studied thoroughly both experimentally 12345678 9 and theoretically. Revised and expanded to reflect new developments in the field, this book outlines the basic principles required to understand the chemical processes of explosives. Chemical explosive material having an extremely high reaction rate that creates very high combustion pressures, unlike low explosives that have a much lower reaction rate and are commonly used as propellants. Introduction an explosive material, also called explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. Petn, abbreviation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate, a highly explosive organic compound belonging to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose petn has the chemical formula c 5 h 8 n 4 o 12. Welcome to the premier industrial petn explosives resource. Introduced after world war i, petn is in the same chemical family as nitroglycerin and among the most powerful of. Penta refers to the five carbon atoms of the neopentane skeleton. Pdf explosive decomposition of petn with nanoaluminum.
The results show that the appropriate particle size and content of aluminium powder in the aluminized petn explosive powders are 44. Characteristics of a new plastic explosive named epx1. The petn acetone mix is then filtered and poured into a beaker containing 600ml of ice cold water, causing the petn to precipitate to the bottom as fine crystals. For example, semtex is a blend of cyclomethylenetrinitramine rdx and petn. Petn is an explosive chemical that is currently used as the primary ingredient in detonating fuses and as a component mixed with hexahydro1,2,5trinitro1,3,4triazine in plastic explosives.
Explosives usually have less potential energy than fuels, but their high rate of energy release produces a great blast pressure. The third edition of this popular book has been fully revised and updated and outlines the basic principles needed to understand the mechanism of explosions. The ingredients and more significant properties of each explosive are tabulated and briefly discussed. The results show that the appropriate particle size and content of aluminium powder in the aluminized petn explosive powders are. There are many chemical reactions that will release energy. Johnson, in wildlife toxicity assessments for chemicals of military concern, 2015. Petn, short for pentaerythritol trinitrate, is a widely available and easily detected chemical explosive that has a long history of terrorist use. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reactions regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of. Etn is an explosive compound chemically similar to petn. The stable and safe explosive petn or pentaerythritol tetranitrate was chosen as it is safe to handle and can be detonated through a mobile phone. In this paper, the production method of epx1 was described. The effect of temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction may be demonstrated strikingly by introducing a 12inch length of black match into a 10inch glass or paper tube which need not fit it tightly. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn is an explosive used as the primary ingredient in detonating fuses and as a component in some plastic explosives. A new method of preparing the high explosive rdx journal.