Ammonium Nitrate - Fertilizer, Explosives, Gas Generator

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is an extremely versatile substance with applications ranging from artificial nitrogen fertilizers, gas generator in airbags, to its use in granulated or emulsified explosives. Although AN is very safe to handle, numerous catastrophic accidents have occurred in the recent past (1921-2020), since although the substance isn't highly explosive, it is (under specific conditions and particularly in combination with oxidizable impurities) capable of causing an explosion. The safe use of AN-based civil explosives in mining and tunneling as well as in drill holes and quarries has not only made the lives of many workers easier and safer, it has also enabled many applications to be possible at all. The use of AN as an ingredient in fertilisers is a blessing for humanity, since it has saved billions of people from famine and severe starvation.