What chemicals can cause a reddish explosion cloud?

Urwumpe

Not funny anymore
Addon Developer
Donator
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
37,588
Reaction score
2,312
Points
203
Location
Wolfsburg
Preferred Pronouns
Sire
Just saw the pictures and videos of the massive explosions at the port of Beirut, which happened a few minutes ago.



What strikes me there is the rust-reddish explosion cloud, which I usually only saw on rockets using RFNA or similar during the Challenger accident by NTO.


The origin of the explosions was a warehouse at the port, right next to a grain silo, but the grain silo did not explode. Before the second large explosion, there had been multiple smaller explosions, like fireworks or ammunition going off.


The cloud of the first big explosion and the following smaller explosions had been gray to white, nothing too strange.



But the second explosion had brown to red cloud shooting up with little fireball being visible, before condensation obscured the view. Afterwards, a red-brown mushroom cloud was visible over the port.


Again, the explosion was massive - it destroyed a large radius around the port and caused damage and injuries through most of downtown Beirut. I would estimate the energy equivalent at at least 1 kT TNT.

Article with some pictures of the cloud here:

https://www.ksta.de/panorama/libanon-riesige-explosion-erschuettert-beirut-37136816
 

GLS

Well-known member
Orbiter Contributor
Addon Developer
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Messages
5,873
Reaction score
2,868
Points
188
Website
github.com

Quick_Nick

Passed the Turing Test
Donator
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
4,088
Reaction score
204
Points
103
Location
Tucson, AZ
Not necessarily accurate, but an official report:
"Lebanon's Head of General Security says the blast was caused by a fire in a depot of highly explosive material, including Sodium nitrate, at Beirut's port. He said that material was confiscated from a ship months ago and stored there."

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
 

Urwumpe

Not funny anymore
Addon Developer
Donator
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
37,588
Reaction score
2,312
Points
203
Location
Wolfsburg
Preferred Pronouns
Sire

Buck Rogers

Major Spacecadet
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Messages
279
Reaction score
216
Points
43
That was some shockwave!

---------- Post added at 06:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:50 PM ----------

Just heard it was supposed to be Sodium Nitrate?
 

fort

Active member
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
1,017
Reaction score
20
Points
38
Beirut, 400,000 people and very dense housing plus refugees. Nitrates, yes. Appalling. Poor nation.

According to the Interior Ministry, it could be ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive and otherwise toxic fertilizer. It is a similar fertilizer that was involved in a deadly explosion in Texas in 2013.
 
Last edited:

Xyon

Puts the Fun in Dysfunctional
Administrator
Moderator
Orbiter Contributor
Addon Developer
Webmaster
GFX Staff
Beta Tester
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
6,922
Reaction score
789
Points
203
Location
10.0.0.1
Website
www.orbiter-radio.co.uk
Preferred Pronouns
she/her
Report I read said it was firecrackers stored in a warehouse there. Lots of folks injured. Not good.
 

DaveS

Addon Developer
Addon Developer
Donator
Beta Tester
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
9,429
Reaction score
680
Points
203
Does ammonium nitrate rather sodium nitrate make better sense?

[ame]https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1290726112214102016[/ame]
 

fort

Active member
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
1,017
Reaction score
20
Points
38
Is it believable ? 2750 tonnes...
 

Mister Kite

&#%!@?!
Addon Developer
Donator
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
316
Reaction score
46
Points
43
Location
Netherlands
[ame="https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1290782284686266372"]https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1290782284686266372[/ame]

Looks legit.
 

Quick_Nick

Passed the Turing Test
Donator
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
4,088
Reaction score
204
Points
103
Location
Tucson, AZ
Does ammonium nitrate rather sodium nitrate make better sense?

Yes, seeing it reported as ammonium nitrate now.

Notorious stuff involved in past industrial accidents and bombs.
Used extensively as fertilizer and as a component for explosives.

[ame]https://twitter.com/LBpresidency/status/1290752731918077953[/ame]

Google translation:
I will not be satisfied until we find the person responsible for what happened to hold him accountable and impose the most severe penalties on him, because it is unacceptable that a shipment of "ammonium nitrate" estimated at 2750 tons has been present for 6 years in a warehouse without taking preventive measures that endanger the safety of citizens.


---------- Post added at 07:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:27 PM ----------

According to the Wikipedia article on TNT equivalence, ammonium nitrate has a "relative effectiveness" of 42% of TNT.
So I suppose 2750 tons makes for a 1.155 kT explosion if it all goes up at once.
 
Last edited:

Linguofreak

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2008
Messages
5,017
Reaction score
1,254
Points
188
Location
Dallas, TX
The story, apparently, is that a freighter full of AN docked in Beirut for repairs in 2014, and was then found unseaworthy and abandoned by the owners. The AN was taken ashore and stored in a warehouse. Then there was an explosion and fire at what is rumored to have been a fireworks warehouse, with the fire then spreading to the AN warehouse.

AN continues to be used as a fertilizer because, unconfined, it isn't really an explosive. But there have been *so* many accidents related to large amounts stored in confined spaces that it probably should be regulated as an explosive in all circumstances.
 

Quick_Nick

Passed the Turing Test
Donator
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
4,088
Reaction score
204
Points
103
Location
Tucson, AZ
I suppose this thread was for a scientific curiosity, and not so much the event itself, but since it's the thread we have...

Here's a video combining several angles that were posted to Reddit:
https://streamable.com/nmhwp9
 

Linguofreak

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2008
Messages
5,017
Reaction score
1,254
Points
188
Location
Dallas, TX
I suppose this thread was for a scientific curiosity, and not so much the event itself, but since it's the thread we have...

Given that Lebanon basically just tacnuked its own capital on accident, I'd say that the thread title should probably be changed to something more apropos to the newsworthiness of the event.

Here's a video combining several angles that were posted to Reddit:
https://streamable.com/nmhwp9

Wow. I'm betting that this is about the largest accidental explosion to ever have been filmed. On the numbers, it's about a third the scale of the Halifax explosion.
 

jedidia

shoemaker without legs
Addon Developer
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
10,842
Reaction score
2,105
Points
203
Location
between the planets
I would estimate the energy equivalent at at least 1 kT TNT.
So I suppose 2750 tons makes for a 1.155 kT explosion if it all goes up at once.

Congratulations Urwumpe. You win the pot, and also an entry on all the watchlists... :lol:
 

mahdavi3d

Active member
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
536
Reaction score
99
Points
43
vista-dron-del-almacen-beirut-que-contenia-nitrato-amonio-este-miercoles-dia-despues-explosion-1596604036408.jpg


0408Beirutexplosionaftermath-16.jpg


:shifty:
 
Last edited:

Urwumpe

Not funny anymore
Addon Developer
Donator
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
37,588
Reaction score
2,312
Points
203
Location
Wolfsburg
Preferred Pronouns
Sire
Congratulations Urwumpe. You win the pot, and also an entry on all the watchlists... :lol:


As if I did not get a special mention on all those lists already. :lol:

---------- Post added at 16:54 ---------- Previous post was at 16:53 ----------



Pretty huge crater, where the warehouse used to be...

---------- Post added at 16:59 ---------- Previous post was at 16:54 ----------

BTW, found a good theory how the reddish cloud came around - heating Ammonium nitride past 170°C makes it gently decompose into nitrogen dioxide and water, without exploding.

The mixture of the different chemicals in the cloud could have given a good indication how much of the Ammonium nitride exploded and how much of it decomposed, giving a better understanding of what exploded there and how the explosion developed.
 
Top