TERRORIST ALERT: A new fertilizer developed by Honeywell cannot also be used as a lethal bomb by terrorists.
Image: ©Don Bayley/istockphoto.com
You might not know it but fertilizer is the explosive of choice for budget-conscious terrorists. The blasts at the World Trade Center in 1993, Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995 and on rush-hour London buses and trains in 2005 all contained ammonium nitrate fertilizer (which is manufactured in bulk as an explosive by the U.S. and other countries as well as by companies.)
But what's an honest farmer to do? Well, Honeywell International—the Morristown, N.J.–based company probably most famous for your thermostat and home security system—has now developed a patented blast-free fertilizer that nullifies any explosive intent.
The company has been producing ammonium sulfate—another fertilizer—for 50 years as a by-product of making the nylon in everything from carpets to golf shirts. And tests since 1999 have shown that by combining ammonium sulfate with ammonium nitrate, the fast-acting fertilizer also used as a bomb, the latter gets bound up in the more stable variety. (Ammonium sulfate is inert enough to be used in some applications as a flame retardant.) "Whatever is trying to happen to the nitrate has to happen to the sulfate simultaneously…. It's the difference between lighting a wood log on fire and [igniting] a gallon of gasoline," says Jim Kweeder, principal research engineer at Honeywell Resins and Chemicals. "With an explosive, speed is everything. Slow it down and it's not an explosive anymore."
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has tested the fertilizer and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has certified it as a nonexplosive alternative based on the fact that it doesn't explode even when mixed with diesel or other fuels. What remains to be seen is whether it performs well as fertilizer. "Target crops for this product would be plants that do react to fast-acting nitrate but also plants that do need sulfate," such as tomatoes, cabbages, potatoes and even citrus trees, says Mark Murray, director of strategic marketing at Honeywell Resins and Chemicals. "It has the benefits of both fertilizers and negates the downsides from a safety and handling perspective" based on small field trials.
The company expects to begin offering the product by the end of 2009. Farmers will likely pay more for the so-called Sulf-N 26 fertilizer than the regular stuff, though prices have yet to be determined. The average price tag for ordinary fertilizer is presently more than $450 per ton. "On a ton of nitrogen [content] basis we will be charging a premium," Murray says. It is also not likely to replace all ammonium nitrate manufactured or used anytime soon, he admits. But those farmers who do use it will have some certainty that Homeland Security won't come calling when they buy in bulk.
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Add CommentCoincidentally, there is a new book out this month called "Alchemy of Air" by Thomas Hager. It is about the two individuals that invented the process to extract fixed nitrogen out of the air ... on how they prevented mass starvation ... but also on how their process was used to produce explosive for WW I and WW II. The book ends on an all too brief look at invention's impact on today's environment. Mr. Hager is a very good story teller and I found the story very interesting
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisToo me it does not seem to be a new invention. According to my recollection of standard text books of applied industrial chemistry the addition of ammonium sulfate to ammonium nitrate to eliminate the explosion risk is an old practice. I can not tell why it has not been used everywhere but perhaps it will add to transportation cost and as well cast some doubt on the content of useful nitrate by the end user, the farmer. Anyone out there with more specific knowledge about this?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is interesting but I would suggest a little more fact checking is necessary. Two of the three examples you gave in the first paragraph are incorrect. The first paragraph states that an ammonium nitrate based explosive was used in the July 7, 2005 London Subway/Bus bombing..that is COMPLETELY wrong! The bombing of the World Trade Centers in 1993 was NOT done by ammonium nitrate either. If you look a little harder in court records and gov't sources you might find the right answers. You might want to better scrutinize your sources. There are a lot of so called explosive experts out there that think they know what they are talking about.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyea def check ur facts. Im surprised to see such lax journalism on sciam.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo now Scientific American has jumped onto the "terrorist" bandwagon. Seems to me that as a direct result of American
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgreed, supremacy, empire, whatever you want to call it, millions of people,the world over have been killed. 3 million Iraqi civilians since 2003. A lie from the government about terrorists on 9/11 from Iraq ? killing Americans when the WTC buildings on 9/11 that WERE DEMOLISHED WITH EXPLOSIVES the result being nearly 3,000 murdered. Not by anyone from Iraq, not terrorists, mass murderers. No investigation although professionals with Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth (ae911truth.org) have found the unexploded culprit (explosives) in massive quantities in the dust and from artifacts from the WTC. A government like like the "Gulf of Tonken" non incident that got the U.S. into the Vietnam conflict (Robert McNamara admitted the lie before he died) War is BIG MONEY FOR THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
AND THE HEALTH OF THE STATE. Scientific American is more than likely owned by one of five conglomerates that makes a fortune on WAR. Thus their propaganda concerning terrorists and terrorism. Their trying to scare you out of all your Constitutional rights and your money. WAKE UP !! 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB..go to ae911truth.org..professionals that have the science that verifies that statement.
OK. But the real problem is guns.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this'Unbeliever' - you need to think more and write less. Only guns make possible the massive murders in Norway, as well as the innumerable smaller scale crimes in the U.S. That, as well as their greater ability to be used immediately and impulsively, more than justifies limiting access to them. You also need to learn some manner.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this@Unbeliever, "I only read it still because I have an insane expectation SA might be different the next time I look." it won't so teach them a lesson and do us a favour and leave and never come back.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is absurd, and it was no less absurd at the time it was published. Neither ammonium sulfate nor ammonium nitrate is new, nor are they the only nitrogen fertilizers (e.g. anhydrous ammonia, urea, etc.) Fertilizers are often blended in any case. The article doesn't even mention N-P-K content for the different fertilizers, or what the difference would be from a farmer's perspective. This article sounds as if it were a mashed-up press release. I hope that's not true, but that's what it sounds like.
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