Acid Catalysis in the Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Nitrate

Abstract
Experimental measurements of the kinetics of thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate have been made in the temperature range from 443 to 553°K. The results indicate that the degradation of ammonium nitrate is an autocatalytic liquid‐phase reaction, the rate of which is proportional to the product of the mass of salt and the concentration of acid. The activation energy for this process is found to be 31.4 kcal. Adjustment of the concentration of acid present offers an effective means for the control of the rate of thermal degradation of ammonium nitrate.

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