TNT Info

Preparation
In industry, TNT is produced in a three-step process. First, toluene is nitrated with a mixture
of sulfuric and nitric acid to produce mononitrotoluene (MNT). The MNT is separated and
then renitrated to dinitrotoluene (DNT). In the final step, the DNT is nitrated to trinitrotoluene
(TNT) using an anhydrous mixture of nitric acid and oleum. Nitric acid is consumed by the
manufacturing process, but the diluted sulfuric acid can be reconcentrated and reused. After
nitration, TNT is stabilized by a process called sulfitation, where the crude TNT is treated
with aqueous sodium sulfite solution to remove less stable isomers of TNT and other
undesired reaction products. The rinse water from sulfitation is known as red water and is a
significant pollutant and waste product of TNT manufacture.[11]
Control of nitrogen oxides in feed nitric acid is very important because free nitrogen dioxide
can result in oxidation of the methyl group of toluene. This reaction is highly exothermic and
carries with it the risk of a runaway reaction leading to an explosion.[citation needed]
In the laboratory, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene is produced by a two-step process. A nitrating mixture

of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids is used to nitrate toluene to a mixture of mono- and
di-nitrotoluene isomers, with careful cooling to maintain temperature. The nitrated toluenes
are then separated, washed with dilute sodium bicarbonate to remove oxides of nitrogen,
and then carefully nitrated with a mixture of fuming nitric acid and sulfuric acid.[citation
needed]
Applications
TNT is one of the most commonly used explosives for military, industrial, and mining
applications. TNT has been used in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing (popularly known as
fracking), a process used to recover oil and gas from shale formations. The technique
involves displacing and detonating nitroglycerin in hydraulically induced fractures followed by
wellbore shots using pelletized TNT.[12]
TNT is valued partly because of its insensitivity to shock and friction, with reduced risk of
accidental detonation compared to more sensitive explosives such as nitroglycerin. TNT
melts at 80 °C (176 °F), far below the temperature at which it will spontaneously detonate,
allowing it to be poured or safely combined with other explosives. TNT neither absorbs nor
dissolves in water, which allows it to be used effectively in wet environments. To detonate,
TNT must be triggered by a pressure wave from a starter explosive, called an explosive
booster.[13]
Although blocks of TNT are available in various sizes (e.g. 250 g, 500 g, 1,000 g), it is more
commonly encountered in synergistic explosive blends comprising a variable percentage of
TNT plus other ingredients. Examples of explosive blends containing TNT include:
Amatex (ammonium nitrate and RDX)[14]

Amatol (ammonium nitrate[15])
Ammonal (ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder plus sometimes charcoal).
Baratol (barium nitrate and wax[16])
Composition B (RDX and paraffin wax[17])
Composition H6
Cyclotol (RDX)[18]
Ednatol
Hexanite[19] (hexanitrodiphenylamine[20][21])
Minol
Octol
Pentolite
Picratol
Tetrytol
Torpex
Tritonal
Explosive character
Upon detonation, TNT undergoes a decomposition equivalent to the reaction
2 C7H5N3O6 → 3 N2 + 5 H2 + 12 CO + 2 C
plus some of the reactions
H
2 + CO → H
2O + C
and
2 CO → CO
2 + C.
The reaction is exothermic but has a high activation energy in the gas phase (~62 kcal/mol).
The condensed phases (solid or liquid) show markedly lower activation energies of roughly
35 kcal/mol due to unique bimolecular decomposition routes at elevated densities.[22]
Because of the production of carbon, TNT explosions have a sooty appearance. Because
TNT has an excess of carbon, explosive mixtures with oxygen-rich compounds can yield
more energy per kilogram than TNT alone. During the 20th century, amatol, a mixture of TNT
with ammonium nitrate was a widely used military explosive.[citation needed]
TNT can be detonated with a high velocity initiator or by efficient concussion.[23] For many
years, TNT used to be the reference point for the Figure of Insensitivity. TNT had a rating of
exactly 100 on the "F of I" scale. The reference has since been changed to a more sensitive
explosive called RDX, which has an F of I rating of 80.[citation needed]
Energy content
See also: TNT equivalent
Cross-sectional view of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon shells (dating from c. 1945) showing color
codes for TNT and pentolite fillings
The heat of detonation utilized by NIST to define a tonne of TNT equivalent is 1000 cal/g or
1000 kcal/kg, 4.184 MJ/kg or 4.184 GJ/ton.[24] The energy density of TNT is used as a
reference point for many other explosives, including nuclear weapons, the energy content of
which is measured in equivalent kilotons (~4.184 terajoules or 4.184 TJ or 1.162 GWh) or
megatons (~4.184 petajoules or 4.184 PJ or 1.162 TWh) of TNT. The heat of combustion
however is 14.5 megajoules per kilogram or 14.5 MJ/kg or 4.027 kWh/kg, which requires that
some of the carbon in TNT react with atmospheric oxygen, which does not occur in the initial
event.[25]
For comparison, gunpowder contains 3 megajoules per kilogram, dynamite contains 7.5
megajoules per kilogram, and gasoline contains 47.2 megajoules per kilogram (though
gasoline requires an oxidant, so an optimized gasoline and O2 mixture contains 10.4
megajoules per kilogram).[citation needed]
Detection
Various methods can be used to detect TNT, including optical and electrochemical sensors
and explosive-sniffing dogs. In 2013, researchers from the Indian Institutes of Technology
using noble-metal quantum clusters could detect TNT at the sub-zeptomolar (10−18 mol/m3)
level.[26]
Safety and toxicity

TNT is poisonous, and skin contact can cause skin irritation, causing the skin to turn a bright
yellow-orange color. During the First World War, female munition workers who handled the
chemical found that their skin turned bright yellow, which resulted in their acquiring the
nickname "canary girls" or simply "canaries".[27]
People exposed to TNT over a prolonged period tend to experience anemia and abnormal
liver functions. Blood and liver effects, spleen enlargement and other harmful effects on the
immune system have also been found in animals that ingested or breathed trinitrotoluene.
There is evidence that TNT adversely affects male fertility.[28] TNT is listed as a possible
human carcinogen, with carcinogenic effects demonstrated in animal experiments with rats,
although effects upon humans so far amount to none (according to IRIS of March 15,
2000).[29] Consumption of TNT produces red urine through the presence of breakdown
products and not blood as sometimes believed.[30]
Some military testing grounds are contaminated with wastewater from munitions programs,
including contamination of surface and subsurface waters which may be colored pink
because of the presence of TNT. Such contamination, called "pink water", may be difficult
and expensive to remedy.[citation needed]
TNT is prone to exudation of dinitrotoluenes and other isomers of trinitrotoluene when

projectiles containing TNT are stored at higher temperatures in warmer climates. Exudation
of impurities leads to formation of pores and cracks (which in turn cause increased shock
sensitivity). Migration of the exudated liquid into the fuze screw thread can form fire
channels, increasing the risk of accidental detonation. Fuze malfunction can also result from
the liquid migrating into the fuze mechanism.[31] Calcium silicate is mixed with TNT to
mitigate the tendency towards exudation.[32]

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Preparation

In the laboratory, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene is produced by a two-step process. A nitrating mixture

Amatex (ammonium nitrate and RDX)[14]

Safety and toxicity

TNT is prone to exudation of dinitrotoluenes and other isomers of trinitrotoluene when

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