Lebanese official confirmed: 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded

The Prime Minister of Lebanon confirmed that the huge explosion that caused 78 deaths and injured more than 4,000 people was indeed caused by the explosion of more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate.

According to the news network, at about 6 pm local time on August 4, a huge explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The explosion occurred twice in succession, causing damage to many houses, shattering glass, and red smoke rising from the sky. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the explosion has caused at least 78 deaths and more than 4,000 injuries. The Prime Minister of Lebanon declared the 5th a day of national mourning. The headquarter reporters rushed to the explosion site to report.

Foreign media said that UN peacekeepers and German embassy personnel were injured in the explosion. The Supreme Defense Council of Lebanon declared Beirut a state of emergency.


Abbas Ibrahim, head of the Lebanese security department, said that combustible chemicals are stored in the port warehouse. The Prime Minister of Lebanon confirmed that more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had exploded. He emphasized that it is unacceptable that more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate have been stored in a warehouse for six years without any preventive measures.

Ammonium nitrate-it has appeared in many explosions. What is it?


In 1659, the German J.R. Graubel produced ammonium nitrate for the first time. At first, it was used in large quantities as a chemical fertilizer and an important raw material for the manufacture of industrial explosives. In our country, in 2002, the State Council listed ammonium nitrate products in "Civilian Explosives" and prohibited the sale of ammonium nitrate as fertilizer. At present, most countries in the world have banned the sale of ammonium nitrate as fertilizer.

The strong oxidation, natural reactivity and thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate determine its explosiveness.

Strong oxidizing properties of ammonium nitrate

Ammonium nitrate and the nitrogen oxides produced by its decomposition have strong oxidizing properties. When mixed with sulfur, phosphorus, reducing agents, organic substances (such as oils), etc., it will form a system with strong oxidizing ability, and the formation of redox reaction Substances can further accelerate the reaction and release a large amount of heat. If the heat accumulates, it may cause a risk of combustion and explosion.

Thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate

Ammonium nitrate is a substance with very complex physical and chemical properties. In general, ammonium nitrate is stable and safe. Ammonium nitrate has different decomposition products at different temperatures.

The above reaction is essentially an "ideal" explosive decomposition reaction of ammonium nitrate. The decomposition of ammonium nitrate at 300℃ has the characteristic of explosive decomposition.

The explosiveness of ammonium nitrate


Ammonium nitrate is an explosive substance, although it is not sensitive to detonation effects, it is extremely insensitive to detonation effects and completely insensitive to mechanical effects. However, when heating or self-decomposing heat, if the thermal decomposition products are not exported in time, an explosion may occur, or it may explode due to shock waves generated by local explosions in other systems. In the process of production, storage, transportation, and use, improper handling or failure to take corresponding preventive measures may also lead to serious explosion accidents. When organic impurities are mixed into ammonium nitrate, it can significantly increase the explosion risk of ammonium nitrate. Organic fibers mixed with ammonium nitrate, such as felt, cotton yarn, rags, brooms, and wood, can easily cause spontaneous combustion.