EDDN

melting point ? °C	boiling point ? °C	EDDN	molecular mass ? g/mol	density ? g/mL
table key	sensitivity ?	chemical formula X₂Y₃Z₄	explosive velocity ? m/s	estimated cost $?.00 /g

EDDN, an acronym for ethylenediamine dinitrate, is an insensitive high explosive material similar to TNT or picric acid. Other common names for this explosive include 1,2-ethanediamine dinitrate; ethylenediammonium dinitrate; EDD; EDAD; Diamin; and NEDA. EDDN is somewhat hygroscopic, a property which makes it somewhat undesirable as a commercial explosive. The Germans used EDDN during WWII in shells and as a booster charge, usually in admixture with ammonium nitrate. When protected from moisture this explosive can outperform TNT, and its power is even greater when mixed with ammonium nitrate.

CHEMICALS APPARATUS

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Into a 3-L round bottomed flask prepare a solution of 339 g of ethylenediamine in 790 mL of water. Immerse the flask in an ice bath and cool it to around 20 C. Slowly add, with stirring, 1006 g of 70% nitric acid while maintaining the temperature between 20 and 30 C. Allow several minutes for the reaction to complete before dumping the entire contents of the flask into a bucket filled with 7790 mL of anhydrous ethyl alcohol cooled to 3 C. Stir this mixture for 30 minutes to allow for complete precipitation of the product. Pour the mixture over a filter to collect the product, wash it with 1250 mL of anhydrous ethyl alcohol, and allow it to dry. Yield is about 885 g or 95%. An alternative to using nitric acid is to use ammonium nitrate. 2 moles of ammonium nitrate will react with 1 mole of ethylenediamine to form 1 mole of EDDN and two moles of ammonia. This reaction can also be used to prepare a more powerful explosive composition of EDDN and ammonium nitrate by adding an excess of ammonium nitrate. The ratio is 1 mole of ethylenediamine to 4.33 moles of ammonium nitrate. This ends up making a 50/50 ratio by weight. The two substances are dissolved in a minimum of water, combined, and the resulting solution is heated in an oven at 70 C for several hours to drive off the ammonia and water.

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