Chemical reaction modeling of industrial scale nitrocellulose production for military applications

Abstract

A model was developed to describe the nitration of cellulose in mixed acids used in the production of military grade nitrocellulose. Acid dissociation, swelling, diffusion, and chemical reaction were considered to model the nitration of industrially important cellulose materials for given reaction times and conditions. This model is supported by experimental work conducted to measure the dynamics of swelling and diffusion in wood pulp slivers, and the model was validated using the results of lab‐scale nitration reactions. Microcomputed tomography was also used to perform a structural analysis of wood pulp slivers that were cut on industrial, rotary cutting machines to evaluate features that may influence the reactivity of these materials.

Utilization of cellulose in tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum) stalks for nitrocellulose production

“…Alkaline treatment has proven to be an effective method in delignification of herbaceous crops to expose the crystalline structure of cellulose and improve accessibility to the cell walls. Recent advances in pulping technologies have aimed at producing higher quality and lower cost commercial wood pulps, which has resulted in renewed interest in developing effective processing methods for these new raw materials ( Sullivan et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Depending on the DOS, nitrocellulose has applications in ionizing radiation detectors, biological indicators, ballistae rocket fuel, gun propellant, semipermeable membranes, components of varnish, putty, printing ink and specific types of glue ( Sullivan et al., 2020 ; Gilbert et al., 2019 ; Gismatulina et al., 2015 ; Sun et al., 2010 ). It continues to enjoy interest in the 21 st century ( Hesseling, 2008 ; De la Ossa et al., 2012 ) and various types of film, ink, lacquer and paint are manufactured using nitrocellulose with a low nitrogen content of less than 12% wt ( Adekunle, 2010 ).…”

“…However, explosives and other military-related equipment are made with nitrocellulose with a high nitrogen content, i.e. greater than 12.6% wt ( Sullivan et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of 11.3–11.8% is soluble in esters, ketones and glycol ethers, and have good blending capability and are compatible with alcohol. Nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of 11.8–12.3% is soluble in latent solvents; however, the physical state of the cellulose is an important consideration in nitration, as it may impose mass transfer limitations ( Sullivan et al., 2020 ).…”

Combustion‐Assisted Photonic Sintering of Printed Liquid Metal Nanoparticle Films

“…Nitrocellulose (NC) is a nitrated cellulosic polymer derivative that combusts exothermically and has proven to be effective at dispersing nanomaterials and producing uniform films. [32][33][34] As shown in Figure 3A, nitrocellulose also provides a significant improvement in dispersion stability compared to polymer-free eGaIn nanoparticle dispersions. Whereas polymer-free eGaIn nanoparticles rapidly settle out of dispersion within 10 s, the incorporation of 1.7 wt% NC maintains a homogeneous eGaIn nanoparticle dispersion for at least 24 h. Supporting Video 1 compares eGaIn nanoparticle dispersions with and without NC, clearly showing the improvement in dispersion stability with NC.…”