Table of Contents
What does ANFO explosive stand for?
Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil (explosive)
Is ANFO a secondary explosive?
ANFO is a tertiary explosive, meaning that it cannot be set off by the small quantity of primary explosive in a typical detonator. A larger quantity of secondary explosive, known as a primer or a booster, must be used.
What ANFO means?
Definition of ANFO : a compound made from ammonium nitrate and fuel oil that is used both as a commercial explosive and in the manufacture of improvised bombs.
What is ANFO mining?
ANFO is a free flowing (loose poured) mixture of ammonium nitrate prill and fuel oil, formulated to be oxygen balanced, for use in dry blastholes. ANFO can be used as a column charge in mining or quarrying and for general blasting work.
Can you make ANFO?
You blend two to five percent common kerosene, household fuel oil, or diesel fuel with 95 to 98 percent ammonium nitrate, mixing it well. The resulting ANFO is so insensitive to shock that it requires a high explosive such as dynamite to detonate it (as opposed to the slight friction needed to explode black powder).
How is ANFO mixed?
The usual ANFO formulation contains about 94\% by weight ammonium nitrate and 6\% diesel fuel oil. If recycled (used) lubricating oil could be safely substituted for the fuel oil, up to about 27 million gallons could be consumed. This use of recycled oil (RO) can save energy and reduce oil imports.
How explosive is Semtex?
The versions 1AP and 2P are formed as hexagonal booster charges; a special assembly of PETN and wax inside the charge assures high reliability for detonating cord or detonator. The H (or SE) variant is intended for explosion hardening….Composition.
| Compound | RDX |
|---|---|
| Semtex 1A | 4.6\% |
| Semtex H | 41.2\% |
| Semtex 2P | 22.9\% |
Is ANFO a high explosive?
ANFO under most conditions is blasting cap–insensitive, so it is classified as a blasting agent and not a high explosive. Ammonium nitrate is widely used as a fertilizer in the agricultural industry. It is also found in instant cold packs.
What is the reaction of the explosive ANFO?
The chemistry of ANFO detonation is the reaction of ammonium nitrate with a long-chain alkane (C n H 2n+2) to form nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water . In an ideal stoichiometrically balanced reaction, ANFO is composed of about 94.5\% AN and 5.5\% FO by weight.
What is ANFO explosives?
ANFO Explosive. The ANFO Explosive consists of prilled ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel oil or biodiesel. ANFO has a wide variety of applications in dry hole blasting conditions. It is one of the most cost effective blasting agents available for use in large hole diameter mining through to small hole diameter quarrying.