| abstract |
An aqueous slurry explosive blasting composition comprising an aqueous suspension of water-soluble crystalline oxidizing salt consisting predominantly of ammonium nitrate, which salt has been comminuted in a saturated aqueous solution in the presence of a water-soluble crystal-growth inhibiting surfactant having a hydrophobic portion and a hydrophilic portion in its molecule, in intimate admixture with liquid water-immiscible hydrocarbon fuel sensitizer. The surfactant maintains the oxidizer salt in a finely divided state and also ensures that the liquid hydrocarbon remains uniformly distributed throughout the explosive mass as a stable coating of droplets on the salt particles thereby enhancing the explosive sensitivity of the composition. The preferred fuel is diesel oil and preferred surfactants include sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, long chain aliphatic amines, polyacrylic acids, sulphonated nuclear aromatic compounds, sulphonated dyes, sulphonated polymers and long chain alcohol sulphonates and phosphonates. |