Originally emailed by Mr Anonymous
Axt , Experiment recommended for recrystallization of ETN using warm ( 55 degrees centigrade ) denatured alcohol as the solvent , neutralizing with a
small amount of solid urea and sodium bicarbonate added to the rapidly stirred warm alcohol solution .
First use only sufficient denatured alcohol to form a saturated warm solution of ETN , and then add additional excess alcohol in an amount about
twenty per cent excess of that which was required to form the saturated warm solution , to drop the solution comfortably below saturation . To the
well stirred warm alcohol solution add a small amount like a couple of grams each of solid urea and sodium bicarbonate.
A small amount of strong ammonia water can also be used if desired but don't overdo it . A warm ( 45 degrees centigrade ) aqueous solution up to
about two per cent each of urea and sodium bicarbonate is added dropwise to the rapidly stirred warm alcohol solution to bring about a gradual
preciptitation of the neutralized and stabilized , purified ETN crystals.
A few ice cubes dropped into the swirling mixture when the addition of the aqueous urea-sodium bicarbonate solution is begun will cause the formation
of many very small crystalline nuclei in the vicinity of the melting cubes . These nuclei will grow larger as the addition of the remaining warm
aqueous solution continues . Chill the mixture with more ice cubes to complete the precipitation . Rinse and filter and dry the crystals . ETN makes a
good energetic binder for melt casting PETN slurries which solidify on cooling.
Various other fillers are worth experimentation , RDX would probably do nicely , and even double base smokeless powder of the spherical variety might
make interesting cast compositions . For example Accurate Arms No.2 or No.5 cast in ETN might be a good experiment . In casts with PETN , my
observation is that the cast composite is less sensitive than is usual for the filler material alone , so the composite requires a strong initiator
influence to get it to show its true potential . But the output is very high from these dense cast charges once they do detonate at their full
potential velocity . I would estimate their performance is up there in the same category with the specialized military high output compositions , good
for metal cutting and other tasks which require high output from a compact charge.
The prospect of an ETN / RDX composite is interesting because of the OTC sources for all precursors . The Erythritol is a sugar substitute . And
hexamine is a trivial synthesis from dissolving mildewcide crystals ( paraformaldehyde ) in blueprint developer ( strong ammonia water ) in slight
excess , and boiling down until crystals of hexamine just appear . On cooling , the hexamine redissolves because of its inverse thermal solubility
curve , to form a saturated solution of hexamine . Instead of trying to isolate the highly soluble hexamine and then redissolving it to make hexamine
dinitrate , the saturated hexamine solution is used directly . To the very cold and rapidly stirred saturated hexamine solution is added slightly LESS
than the amount of theory of ordinary 68 per cent nitric acid to precipitate hexamine dinitrate , which is a precursor for RDX . Hexamine Dinitrate
should be precipitated , filtered ( no aqueous rinsing ! ) , dried and stored dry " in the cold " and not exposed to any excess moisture or
acidity or heat or it will hydrolyze and decompose.
Allow me to make a side note / speculation here that Hexamine Dinitrate should also be an * ideal * precursor for HMTD , although I have never seen a
published method, HMTD should form directly from dissolving Hexamine Dinitrate in a slight excess of theory of 27 per cent hydrogen peroxide , via a
self-neutralizing reaction requiring no additional materials . The reaction should proceed best in the cold , very cold , in the freezer for two or
three days would seem about right. I haven't tried such an experiment but others may wish to try their luck . A further digression , It may be
possible that HMTD forms a double salt with ammonium nitrate under certain conditions. See GB397600 . Other patents of possible interest are GB339024
, GB415900 , GB421138 , DRP263459 , DRP274522 , US2341263 . From my observations , the usefulness of HMTD is restricted to near term
"improvisational use" due to its poor storage stability and HMTD is one of those "keep it dry and in the freezer" items , like
certain organic nitrites and other things having storage and thermal and reactivity issues. END MESSAGE
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