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Nitrocellulose, Propellant Paste and Premix

Highest Product Quality for your Applications

Nitrocellulose (for military and commercial use)

Nitrocellulose is the essential raw material for all propellants and combustible components and is also used for the production of civil explosives. It is a nitrate ester of cellulose, produced by the reaction of nitrating acids (consisting of nitric acid and sulphuric acid) with purified cotton linters. The nitrocellulose is supplied either water wet or alcoholised.
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Technical Data

The nitrogen content of the nitrocellulose determines the heat of explosion and the gelatinizing behaviour towards mixtures of solvents and blasting oil. For military requirements, uniformly nitrated nitrocellulose produced from bleached linters can be used, or, alternatively, mixtures of two to three differently nitrated nitrocellulose types. Depending on the intended purpose, the nitrogen content varies between 11.5 and 13.6 %. For civil applications such as explosives, nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content varying between 12.0 and 13.6 %, depending on the application, is used. For these applications, nitrocellulose is produced from unbleached linters.

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Application Areas

  • Single-base propellant powder
  • Double-base and multi-base propellant powder
  • Powder pastes/cakes
  • Combustible formed ammunition components
  • Ignition devices for safety systems (airbags and seat belt pretensioners)
  • Pyrotechnics (table crackers, rockets for fireworks)
  • Production of explosives (dynamites)
Manufacturing Process of Nitrocellulose
Some examples of direct nitrated and blended Nitrocellulose

Flexibility

Additional to the introduced and established standard grades we also produce nitrocellulose to customer’s specification for particular applications. By varying the production parameters, we are able to meet the customer’s specific requirements for viscosity, nitrogen content, fibre length (fineness) etc.
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Propellant paste
  • Propellant paste is a mixture of nitrocellulose and one or several blasting oils (nitroglycerine or diethylene glycol dinitrate)
  • Various additives can also be added if necessary. For this purpose the nitrocellulose is gelatinized in an aqueous pulp by the addition of blasting oils and then dehydrated
  • Depending on the intended purpose, the blasting oil content varies between 25 and 50 %
  • Application areas are double-base or multi-base propellant powders and rocket propellants for solventless process technology
Premix
  • Premix is a mixture of alcohol-humid nitrocellulose and a blasting oil (nitroglycerine or diethylene glycol dinitrate)
  • Additives can also be admixed if necessary
  • In the production process, alcohol-humid nitrocellulose is kneaded with a blasting oil whereby gelatinizing takes place
  • Premix consists of 85 % blasting oil and 15 % nitrocellulose by dry weight and contains normally 4 – 6 % alcohol and < 1 % water
  • Application areas are double-base and multi-base propellant powders based on solvent process technology
Contact
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Niesenstrasse 44

3752 Wimmis

Switzerland

Route

Phone: +41 33 228 10 00

Fax: +41 33 228 13 30

www.nitrochemie.com

Liebigstraße 17

84544 Aschau am Inn

Germany

Route

Phone: +49 8638 68-0

Fax: +49 8638 68-247

www.nitrochemie.com

Rheinmetall Platz 1

40476 Dusseldorf

Germany

Phone: +49 211 473-01

Fax: +49 211 473-4727

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