1. Properties

2. Oxygen balance

3. Manufacture

4. See also

5. References

Erythritol tetranitrate (ETN) is an explosive compound chemically similar to PETN,^[1] though it is thought to be a third more sensitive to friction and impact. ETN is not well known, but in recent years has been used by amateur experimenters to replace PETN in improvised detonation cord or in boosters to initiate larger, less sensitive explosive charges. Due to the availability of erythritol as a natural sweetener and its relative ease of production in relation to PETN, ETN is a favoured homemade explosive compound to the amateur experimenter.

Like many nitrate esters, ETN acts as a vasodilator, and was the active ingredient in the original "sustained release" tablets, made under a process patent in the early 1950s, called "nitroglyn". Ingesting ETN or prolonged skin contact can lead to absorption and what is known as a "nitro headache".

Properties

ETN has a relatively high velocity of detonation of 8206 m/s at a density of 1.7219 (±0.0025) g/cm³.^[2] It is white in color and odorless. ETN is commonly cast into mixtures with other high explosives. It is somewhat sensitive to shock and friction, so care should be taken while handling. ETN dissolves readily in acetone and other ketone solvents. The impact and friction sensitivity is slightly higher than the sensitivity of pentaerythritol tetranitrate

(PETN). The sensitivity of melt cast and pressed ETN is comparable. Lower nitrates of erythritol, such as erythritol trinitrate, are soluble in water, so they do not contaminate most ETN samples.

Much like PETN, ETN is known for having a very long shelf life. Studies that directly observed the crystalline structure saw no signs of decomposition after four years of storage at room temperature. ETN has a melting point of 61 °C, compared to PETN which has a melting point of 141.3 °C. Recent studies of ETN decomposition suggested a unimolecular rate-limiting step in which the O-NO2 bond is cleaved and begins the decomposition sequence.^[2]

ETN can and should be recrystalized, as to remove the trapped acids from synthesis. Warm ethanol or methanol is a viable solvent (close to 10 g of ETN/100 ml EtOH). ETN will precitipate as big platelets with bulk density of about 0.3 g/cm³ (fluffy material) when the ETN/ethanol solution is quickly poured into several liters of cold water. Smaller, fine crystals are produced by slow addition of water in said ETN/ethanol solution with intense mixing. ETN can be easily hand pressed to about 1.2 g/cm³ (with a slight risk of accidental detonation).

ETN can be melt-cast in warm (about 65 °C) water. Slight decomposition is possible (often betrayed by change in color from white to very light yellow). Nonetheless, no reports of runaway reactions leading to explosion have been confirmed (when melt-casting using only a bucket of warm water and recrystalized ETN). Melt-cast ETN, if cooled down slowly over a period of 10–30 minutes, has density of 1.70 g/cm³, detonation velocity of 8040 m/s, and P_cj detonation pressure of about 300 kbar. Its brisance is far higher than that of Semtex (about 220 kbar, depending on brand)^[3][4][5]

Mixtures of melt-cast ETN with PETN (about 50:50% by weight) are about the most brisant explosives that can be produced by moderately equipped amateurs. These mixtures have P_cj slightly above 300 kbar and detonation velocity above 8 km/s. This is close to the maximum of fielded military explosives like LX-10 or EDC-29 (about 370 kbar and close to 9 km/s).^[6]

ETN is often plasticized using PIB/synthethic oil binders (very comparable to the binder system in C4) or using liquid nitric esters. The PIB-based plastic explosives are nontoxic and completely comparable to C4 or Semtex with P_cj of 200–250 kbar, depending on density (influenced by crystal size, binder amount, and amount of final rolling). EGDN/ETN/NC systems are toxic to touch, quite sensitive to friction and impact, but generally slightly more powerful than C4 (P_cj of about 250 kbar and E_det of 5.3 MJ/Kg) and more powerful than Semtex (P_cj of about 220 kbar and E_det below 5 MJ/kg) with P_cj of about 250–270 kbar and E_det of about 6 MJ/kg.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Note that different explosive softwares{{Clarify|date=February 2019|reason=Is this referring to computer software (not softwares) or is it a field-specific term?}} and different experimental tests will yield absolute detonation pressures that can vary by 5% or more with the relative proportions being maintained.

Melt-cast ETN gives invalid results in the Hess test, i.e. the deformation is greater than 26 mm, with the lead cylinder being completely destroyed. Semtex 1A gives only 21 mm in the same test, i.e melt-cast ETN is at least 20% more brisant than Semtex 1A.^[7]

Melt-cast ETN or high density/low inert content ETN plastic explosives are one of the materials on "watch-lists" for catastrophic terrorism. Most structural columns can not withstand detonation of more than 5–15 kg of such an explosive in direct contact.{{Cn|date=February 2019}}

Oxygen balance

One quality this explosive has, that PETN does not, is a positive oxygen balance, which means that ETN possesses more than enough oxygen in its structure to fully oxidize all of its carbon and hydrogen upon detonation. This can be seen in the schematic chemical equation below.

2 C₄H₆N₄O₁₂ → 8 CO₂ + 6 H₂O + 4 N₂ + 1 O₂

Whereas PETN decomposes to:

2 C₅H₈N₄O₁₂ → 6 CO₂ + 8 H₂O + 4 N₂ + 4 CO

The carbon monoxide (CO) still requires oxygen to complete oxidation to carbon dioxide (CO₂). A detailed study of the decomposition chemistry of ETN has been recently elucidated.^[2]

Thus, for every two moles of ETN that decompose, one free mole of O₂ is released. This could be used to oxidize an added metal dust or an oxygen-deficient explosive such as TNT or PETN.{{Cn|date=February 2019}}

Manufacture

Like other nitrated polyols, ETN is made by nitrating erythritol through the mixing of concentrated sulfuric acid and a nitrate salt. Thoroughly dried ammonium nitrate or potassium nitrate is commonly used for this type of reaction. Ammonium nitrate is superior in terms of yields and ease of manufacture. The erythritol is added to the mixture to begin its nitration. The potassium nitrate/concentrated sulfuric acid gives about 30% yields. Much better yields (close to 100%) can be obtained by using concentrated nitric acid in place of the nitrate salt, in which case the sulfuric acid is used simply to absorb water and act as a catalyst from the resulting esterification, driving the reaction.

There are more exotic ways of nitrating erythritol. One can use barium nitrate/sulfuric acid mixture to generate nitric acid and barium sulfate. The resulting barely soluble barium sulfate is filtered out using vacuum. The resulting rather pure nitric acid is then used alone or in combination with sulfuric acid to nitrate the erythritol{{Snd}} with about 50% yield. The first part of the reaction requires significant cooling in an ice bath, the KNO₃/sulfuric acid route needs about an hour of cooling, while the concentrated HNO₃/sulfuric acid route requires about 25 minutes. It is important to perform the last step at about 20 °C for about an hour in the case of KNO₃/sulfuric route or for about 5 minutes in the case of concentrated nitric acid/sulfuric acid mix. Lower final temperature is going to yield only the trinitrate and lower esters and these are soluble in water. The reaction times for the ammonium nitrate route are between these two. Using a closed glass container with a plastic lid is a common amateur practice that limits the amount of escaping NOx fumes. Constant mixing via shaking, glass rod, or a magnetic stirrer is required.

See also

• Mannitol hexanitrate
• Xylitol pentanitrate

References

• Ferrier Lecture
• Ferries between Sweden and Finland
• Ferries in Hobart
• Ferries in washington state
• Ferries in Washington (state)
• Ferries in Wellington
• Ferries in wellington
• Ferries of San Francisco Bay
• Ferries of san francisco bay
• Ferrie Township, Ontario
• Ferrigno
• Ferrihydrite
• Ferrin Barr Jr.
• Ferrin Charles Barr
• Ferring
• Ferring Pharmaceuticals
• Ferrinho
• Ferriprox
• Ferris Ashton
• Ferris Buehler's Day Off
• Ferris Bueler
• Ferris Bueler's Day Off
• Ferris Bueller's day off
• Ferrisburgh, VT
• Ferrisburg, Vermont