Water-in-oil explosive emulsion using hydrotreated vegetable oil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emulsion-type explosives using renewable oils face instability due to differences in chemistry and behavior compared to traditional non-renewable oils, leading to emulsion breakdown and viscosity issues, necessitating the development of stable and environmentally friendly compositions.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a fuel in combination with ammonium nitrate and secondary nitrate salts, such as calcium nitrate, to create stable explosive emulsions with adjustable viscosity, ensuring the emulsion remains stable and pumpable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If renewable oils are used as fuel in emulsion explosives, then environmental sustainability is improved, but emulsion stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters by introducing secondary nitrate salts (calcium nitrate, sodium nitrate, or potassium nitrate) at concentrations of 5-50 wt% in the oxidizer phase. This parameter change resolves the instability caused by renewable oils while maintaining the environmental benefits, as the secondary salts adjust the chemical environment to be compatible with renewable fuel chemistry
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite oxidizer phase combining primary (ammonium nitrate) and secondary nitrate salts, and a composite fuel phase combining renewable oils with traditional emulsifiers. This composite approach allows the system to benefit from both renewable sustainability and traditional stability mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between environmental impact and emulsion stability
2Object-affected harmful factors
If renewable oils are used as fuel in emulsion explosives, then sustainability is improved, but viscosity control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses secondary nitrate salts as viscosity modifiers that change the physical parameters of the emulsion. By adjusting the concentration of secondary salts (5-50 wt%), the viscosity can be controlled to achieve pumpable consistency while maintaining renewable fuel composition, thus resolving the viscosity control issue without sacrificing sustainability
3Stability of the object's composition
If chemically processed renewable oils are used, then emulsion stability is improved, but emulsification process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces secondary nitrate salts as intermediary substances that mediate between the renewable fuel phase and oxidizer phase. These salts act as chemical intermediaries that facilitate emulsification by creating a compatible interface, thus improving stability while maintaining ease of manufacture through simplified mixing processes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of HVO and secondary nitrate salts in the emulsion composition results in stable, green explosive emulsions with customizable viscosity, overcoming the instability issues associated with renewable oils and providing a more sustainable alternative.
Implementation Method 1
the inventors have surprisingly found that the viscosity of the explosive emulsion could be reduced by including a HVO as defined herein in the fuel composition
Implementation Method 2
stable explosive emulsions comprising chemically processed renewable oils as fuel can be obtained by adding a suitable amount of one or more secondary salts, in particular calcium nitrate
Data Source
AI summary
An explosive emulsion composition of the water-in-oil type, comprising:between 80 wt. % and 95 wt. % of an oxidizer phase in view of the total weight of the emulsion composition, comprisingat least 40 wt. % of ammonium nitrate (AN), andat least 5 wt. % of a secondary nitrate salt,in view of the total weight of the oxidizer phase composition, and between 5 wt. % and 20 wt. % of an organic phase in view of the total weight of the emulsion composition, the organic phase comprising:between 12 wt. % and 50 wt. % of one or more emulsifiers,between 50 wt. % and 88 wt. % of a fuel composition,in view of the total weight of the organic phase composition,characterized in that the fuel composition comprises between 20 wt. % and 100 wt. % of a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), in view of the total weight of the fuel composition.