What is the significance of the red brown smoke that resulted from the Beirut explosion?

The cloud billowing over Beirut is brown and red, the color of nitrogen dioxide released when the ammonium nitrate exploded. A fire breaks out at a port warehouse storing ammonium nitrate.

How did the Beirut explosion involving ammonium nitrate happen?

A massive chemical detonation occurred on August 4, 2020 in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon. An uncontrolled fire in an adjacent warehouse ignited ~2,750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate (AN), producing one of the most devastating blasts in recent history.

What chemical was improperly stored in Beirut that caused the explosion?

ammonium nitrate
On August 4, 2020, nearly 2,750 tonnes of improperly stored ammonium nitrate exploded in the seaport in Beirut, killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 6,000, and displacing thousands from their homes.

How long was the ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut?

six years
The find comes almost exactly a month after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port for six years detonated, wreaking death and destruction. Along with 191 people killed, more than 6,000 were injured and entire neighborhoods were devastated.

What causes red smoke in an explosion?

The orange/red coloration is caused by the presence of NO2 which is a direct product of the detonation process, and is also produced in the after burning reactions and by the secondary oxidation of NO to NO2 as the cloud mixes with air.

What explosion causes orange smoke?

Ammonium nitrate, emulsion and Pentolite boosters were also detonated in an oxygen-poor environment. The generation of orange post-blast NO2 clouds, more commonly referred to as yellow or orange smoke, is not uncommon in the commercial explosives’ industry.

When was ammonium nitrate discovered?

OVERVIEW. Ammonium nitrate (uh-MOH-ni-um NYE-trate) is a white crystalline substance first made artificially in 1659 by the German chemist Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604–1670). The compound does not occur in nature because it is so soluble that it is washed out of the soil by rain and surface water.

What is the biggest explosion in the world?

Tsar Bomba, (Russian: “King of Bombs”) , byname of RDS-220, also called Big Ivan, Soviet thermonuclear bomb that was detonated in a test over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Ocean on October 30, 1961. The largest nuclear weapon ever set off, it produced the most powerful human-made explosion ever recorded.

What is ammonia nitrate used for?

ammonium nitrate, (NH4NO3), a salt of ammonia and nitric acid, used widely in fertilizers and explosives. The commercial grade contains about 33.5 percent nitrogen, all of which is in forms utilizable by plants; it is the most common nitrogenous component of artificial fertilizers.

What does Black smoke mean in a car?

Black Smoke This means that the fuel injectors are either adding too much fuel or that the intake valves aren’t letting enough air in. This could be caused by a leaking fuel injector, a faulty fuel pressure regulator, or a bad air filter. If your engine is running this rich, it can cause serious problems.

What caused the Texas City ammonium nitrate explosion?

Texas plant explosion: A deadly 1947 explosion in Texas City was also caused by ammonium nitrate. It was packed in bags that were stamped with the word “fertilizer” and was going to be sent from Texas City to Europe, on freighters, in order to assist in the revitalizing of farms in Europe.

What is ammonium nitrate and why is it dangerous?

Ammonium nitrate was also the cause of the massive explosion that killed more than 500 people in Texas City in 1947, and 15 people in an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas in 2013. In Beirut, the ammonium nitrate had been stored in a warehouse.

What was the largest non-nuclear explosion in Houston history?

Click or tap play in the video to see the moment as captured in this rare footage. HOUSTON (KTRK) — It was on April 16, 1947 that one of the largest non-nuclear explosions to have ever occurred rocked the Texas City port, killing hundreds of people including 28 members of the Texas City Fire Department.

What happened in the Texas City explosion of 1947?

Texas City explosion of 1947. Written By: Texas City explosion of 1947, industrial disaster sparked by the fire and explosion of the SS Grandcamp on April 16–17, 1947, in Texas City, Texas. The blast set off a chain of fires as well as a 15-foot (4.5-metre) tidal wave. Between 400 and 600 people were killed, with as many as 4,000 injured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buoAE2Co_TE