MYROL (Methyl nitrate) Myrol was developed as a substitute explosive by the Germans at the end of WWII.

Myrol is one of the most brisant explosives known. Prior to this application it was considered inferior to other explosives due to it's poor storage stability. This instability was due to early manufacture processes and their tendency to leave acidity in the final product. The process developed by the Germans in the latter part of the war when explosives were in short supply and stretching agents and substitute explosives were used. This manufacture process was a distillation from the nitration acids instead of the nitroglycerin type nitration used earlier. This explosive requires only methanol alcohol and nitric and sulfuric acids. Also required is the nitric acid still from the nitric acid section of this publication. With simple manufacture and easily acquired ingredients this is a very attractive choice. Methyl nitrate is less shock sensitive than nitroglycerin or nitroglycol but is slightly less sensitive to friction. MANUFACTUREIn a beaker or wide mouthed jar place 125 grams nitric acid (70%) density 1.42. Add to this 40 grams of concentrated sulfuric acid. CAUTION: Nitric and sulfuric acid are corrosive and dangerous. Fumes and all contact with them should be avoided. Proper clothing and protective equipment should be used! To this is added drop by drop with stirring, 40 grams (50 ml.) of anhydrous methanol alcohol with one gram urea (fertilizer) dissolved in it. Keep the temperature below 10 degrees C. during the addition by regulation of the amount of methanol added. After all the methanol has been added pour the cold acid mixture into the 2000 ml erlenmeyer flask in the nitric acid still (see nitric acid section). This should be done slowly and very carefully avoiding bumps between the reaction beaker and the flask. This "still" should be cleaned thoroughly before and after use. To the liquid in the flask add 5 grams of urea (fertilizer). (Place the stopper in the flask and the second jar of the clean still is placed into an ice bath.) The first distillation flask is placed in an oil bath heated to 40 degrees C. This should be done remotely if possible. The vacuum is applied and the methyl nitrate will immediately begin to come over and collect in the second flask. Yield should be 60 grams of methyl nitrate. Remove the vacuum immediately when this much liquid is in the second jar. Add 10 grams of methanol to the liquid in the second jar and swirl until mixed. Test the Ph of the liquid with Ph paper (E. Merick). The reading should be between 6 and 7. If it is less, add small quantities of sodium bicarbonate and test. This is done until the mixture is between 6 and 7 Ph. This is liquid myrol. It will detonate at velocities of 7500-800 M.sec. It is more powerful than T.N.T. and R.D.X. and is one of the most brisant explosives known. CAUTION: Myrol is a dangerous compound. The addition of methanol reduces the sensitivity of the liquid but caution should be used in handling this explosive. At no time should flame or other source of ignition be in the proximity of this myrol mixture. Flame and subsequent local overheating will cause a high order detonation! Avoid contact with myrol or finished explosives as this compound like other nitro esters will cause cardiovascular dilation. +-----------------+ +---------> To Vacuum source

+-----------------+ Mixed Acid Myrol Nitration Liquids

+------------+ Condensing Flask or Tube

+-----------------+ ^^^^ Heat, 40C

+------------+ ^ +-------------+

METHYL NITRATE PLASTIQUE #l This explosive plastique is a very powerful one. Myrol or methyl nitrate is easily prepared from easily available materials. This plastique has the drawbacks of extreme volatility and the tendency to cause cardiovascular dilation. Volatility can be controlled by storage in a cool or cold place in a sealed container. The physical effect can be controlled by avoiding contact with the finished explosive and or any form of a methyl nitrate containing mixture. Cap sensitivity of the explosive is very good while impact sensitivity is low. Friction sensitivity of myrol or methyl nitrate is high thus friction should be avoided. Power of the plastique will be slightly higher than C4 due to the extremely high power of the myrol (methyl nitrate) explosive ingredient. All that is needed for this plastique is myrol (methyl nitrate) and I.M.R. type smokeless powder (DuPont brand available from sporting goods shops) or nitrostarch. Detonation velocity should be around 7800-8000 M/sec. with unusually high brisance. This explosive is a better explosive than is C4 except from a storage standpoint. MANUFACTUREPlace 500 grams of Myrol (methyl nitrate) in a plastic bowl. To this is added with very gentle stirring 50 grams of smokeless powder or nitrostarch. The mixture will immediately begin to thicken. Continue the gentle stirring until the mixture takes on the consistency of putty and is very uniform. This explosive is then stored in a cool dry place in a container with a nonscrew type CAUTION: Avoid contact with the finished product or the myrol additive. Contact will cause unbearable headaches and continued contact will result in heart disease. Myrol is friction sensitive and flame sensitive and care should be taken in handling this explosive liquid and products made from it. METHYL NITRATE PLASTIQUE #2 This explosive is a powerful one. Myrol or methyl nitrate is easily prepared from easily available materials. This plastique has the drawbacks of extreme volatility and the tendency to cause cardiovascular dilation. Volatility can be controlled by storage in a cool or cold place in a sealed container. The physical effect can be controlled by avoiding contact with the finished explosive and or any form of a methyl nitrate containing mixture. Cap sensitivity of the explosive is very good while impact sensitivity is low. Friction sensitivity of myrol or methyl nitrate is high but in this composition it would be very low due to the ammonium nitrate

(33-0-0 fertilizer) in the explosive composition. Power of the plastique will be less than C-4 but will still be much more powerful than Picric Acid or other high power explosives. All that is needed for this plastique is myrol (methyl nitrate) and I.M.R. type smokeless powder (DuPont brand available from sporting goods shops) or nitrostarch and ammonium nitrate (fertilizer grade). Detonation velocity should be around 7200-7500 M/sec. with unusually high brisance. This explosive is as good an explosive as C-4 except from a storage standpoint. It does have a lower detonation velocity but has extremely high brisance and gas production upon detonation. MANUFACTUREPlace 500 grams of myrol (methyl nitrate) in a plastic bowl. To this is added with very gentle stirring 50 grams of smokeless powder or nitrostarch. The mixture will immediately begin to thicken. Continue the gentle stirring until the mixture takes on the consistency of putty and is very uniform. The addition of 500 grams of ammonium nitrate in a finely powdered form and 50 grams of powdered aluminum with stirring is then made. Stir gently until a very uniform mixture is obtained. This explosive is then stored in a cool dry place in a container with a nonscrew type lid. CAUTION: Avoid contact with the finished product or the myrol additive. Contact will cause unbearable headaches and continued contact will result in heart disease. Myrol is friction sensitive and flame sensitive and care should be taken in handling this explosive liquid and products made from it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------For a long time methyl nitrate CH3ONO2 has aroused interest,for it is the simple st ester of nitric acid and at the same time one of the strongest explosives.How ever,its high volatility and low boiling point prevented practical application u ntil World War 2. Naoum describes methyl nitrate as a colourless liquid boiling at 65-66.c,very mo bile and possessing a viscosity lower than that of water.Its specific gravity is 1.21. Methyl nitrate is capable of dissolving collodion cotton and higher nitrated cel lulose with the greatest ease.Breathing vapours of methyl nitrate caues headache s.The physiological action is similar to the effect in inhaling nitroglycerine,w ith the difference the symptoms are noticable in a very short time and they disa ppear more swiftly.Heating to a temperature of 150.c causes explosion. Methyl nitrate is less sensitive to impact than nitroglycerine:it detonates unde r the impact of a 2 kg wieght falling from a height of 40 cm. The sensitiveness of methyl nitrate to shock produced by detonation is one of th e highest ever known-it is appreciably higher than that for nitroglycerine.Thus, detonation of methyl nitrate can be initiated even by a No.1 detonator.The lead block expansion with water tamping was found to be 520cm3 with a No.1 detonator(nitroglycerine 190cm3 615cm3 with a No8 detonater(nitroglycerine 590cm3) The excellent aptitude to detonate may be explaned to some extent by the excepti onally low visosity of the substance. Berthelot has published some data concerning the rate of detonation of methyl ni trate in a glass tube dia 3/12mm 2480m/sec in a glass tube dia 3/7mm 2190m/sec in a steel tube dia 3/15mm 2085m/sec in a tube 30-40mm dia 8000m/sec in smaller tube 1500m/sec has been found,while in a wide tube detonation is prop agated at a rate exceeding 6000m/sec On a small scale methyl nitrate can be obtained by carefully distilling a mixtur

e of methyl alcohol with nitric acid containing urea nitrate or with nitric-sulp huric acid mixture at 40 or 18.c Also,on account of the low boiling point and high volatility of methyl nitrate,h ot water is not used for washing.The product is washed thoroughly with cold wate r and cold solutions. 100 parts methyl alcohol yield 200 parts of methyl nitrate. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hallo, I have scanned receipes and propertys of some nitric esters from an old book (Ph okion Naoum 1923)and I would like to post it here. But to prevent the mods from a nervous breakdown I ask for o.k. because they are some bookpages long. Then Ill add the text. Methyl Nitrate Of the nitric esters of the primary alcohols of the fatty series, methyl nitrate is theoretically the most important on account of its high explosive properties and high energy content, which is on a par with nitroglycerine, to which it is stochiometrically related very closely, as can be seen from table 12. Practicall y, it has had no importalice s an explosive up to the present time on account of its great volatility, as well as on account of the danger from fire or explosion of the liquid or vapors in increasing the risk in commercial manufacture or use . According to Meyer-Jakobsen it has been made commercially for some time for use in the dye industry for methylation, but on account of several disastrous explos ions its manufacture was given up. Preparation.1 Methyl nitrate, like ethyl nitrate, can be obtained by careful dis tillation of the proper alcohol with moderately strong nitric acid, e.g., of a s pecific gravity of 1.4. It can also be obtained, like nitroglycerine and nitrogl ycol, by putting the alcohol into a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulphuric acids, with good yields, while ethyl alcohol and other mono- and polyvalent alc ohols con-taining methyl or methylene groups readily undergo oxidation in such a case. Example. One hundred grams of pure, anhydrous methyl alcohol was added gradually to 630 grams of a mixed acid containing 40 per cent HNO3 and 60 per cent H2SO4, contained in a spherical glass vessel having three openings for a stirrer, ther mometer and inlet, the mixture being well cooled, mechanically stirred and maint ained at 0 to 10C., the Operation taking twenty-five minutes. Agitation by compre ssed air is out of the question on account of the volatility of the ester. The e ster separated rapidly in a funnel. It was digested with cold water and then neu tralized with a soda solution. There was obtained 196 grams of neutral methyl ni trate, or 81.5 per cent of theory (240.6 grams). Properties. Methyl nitrate is a colorless, very mobile liquid of a high volatili ty and strongly aromatic odor, somewhat resembling chloroform. The vapors cause headache when inhaled. It is some-what less viscous than water, and has a specif ic gravity of 1.21 at 15C. At ordinary pressures it distils at 65C. without decomp osi-tion. Water dissolves it only slightly at room temperatures. One hundred cub ic centimeters of water at 20C. dissolve 3.85 grams of methyl nitrate. Collodion nitrocotton is dissolved, forming a gelatine, from which the methyl nitrate evap orates very easily. TABLE 12 Relation of methyl nitrate to nitroglycerine METHYL NITRATE NITR0G LYCE RIN E Molecular weight........................... 77 227 Composition: C....................................... per cent 15.6 'per cent 15.86 H,...................................... 3.9 2.20 0....................................... 62.3 63.44

N....................................... 18.2 18.50 100.0 100.0 Explosive character. The thermo chemical relations of methyl nitrate have alread y been determined by Berthelot.2 The explosive decomposition is possibly along t he line of the following equations: 1. 2(CH3ON02) = CO2 + CO + 3H2O + N2 2. 2(CH3ONO2) = 2CO2 + 2H2O + H2 + N2 The molecule lacks one atom of oxygen for complete combustion. The oxygen balanc e is therefore 10.39 per cent. Based on a molecular heat of formation of 39.6 Calories for methyl nitrate Berth elot calculated for 1 kg. of this material at constant volume and with water liq uid a heat of explosion of 1609 Calories according to Formula l, and 1616 Calori es according to Formula 2. Methyl nitrate has therefore a somcwhat higher energy contcnt than nitroglycerine (1595 Calories), and this makes itself evident also by a slightly higher explosive action. When shot in the lead block with water t amping: 10 grams methyl nitrate gives.................... 615 cc. expansion 10 grams nitroglycerine gives..................... 600 cc. expansion The expansions are as 102.0:100. The heats of explosion are as 101.0:100, or a s atisfactory agreement, When mixed with kieselguhr or gelatinized with collodion nitro-cotton it shows a bout the same explosive effect on the lead block as nitroglycerine, namely 320 a nd 565 cc. Sensitiveness. Methyl nitrate is extremely sensitive to an initiating Impulse, a nd when shot with a No. l cap under water tamping, ifc gives approximately the s ame effecfc s with a No. 8 cap, in contrast to nitroglycerine, which is more diff icult to detonate. Methyl Nitrate Nitroglycerine Blasting cap No. l.. 520 cc. (84.5 per cent) 190 cc. (32 per cent) Blasting cap No. 8.. 615 cc. (100 per cent) 590 cc. (100 per cent) or after deducting 30 cc. for the No. 8, and 5 cc. for the No. l cap: Blasting cap No. l... 515 cc. (88 per cent) 185 cc. (33 per cent) Blasting cap No. 8... 585 cc. (100 per cent) 560 cc. (100 per cent) The crusher fest also shows similar rclations, which were obtained with 100 gram s of the liquid in a sheet lead shell with walls l mm, thick, tamped by thin cor k plates, i.e., under slight confinement: Methyl Nitrate Nilroglycol Nitroglycerine Compression.............. 24.5 mm. 30 mm. 18.5 mm. The lower viscosities of methyl nitrate and nitroglycol as compared to nitroglyc erine give higher velocities of detonation with the first two, even with a weak confinement. The sensitiveness also is evidenced by a flame causing detonation Given in a nar row space, a small amount of methyl nitrate in a beaker, when ignited by fuse co ntaining a black powder core, sometimes gives a puff and destruction of the glas s into large pieces, Bometimes a brisant detonation and pulverizing of the glass to a fine powder. In an open dish methyl nitrate ignites immediately when in contact with a flame, and burns quietly with a large, non-luminous flame. The vapors puff readily on ignition, and on heating them to 150C. they explode. Methyl nitrate is also sensi tive to shock, although less so than nitroglycerine and nitroglycol. Under a 2 k g. weight it explodes at a drop of 40 cm. Even when mixed with kieselguhr it is appreciably less sensitive than nitroglycerine. Velocity of detonation. The velocity of detonation was determined by Berthelot3 at very small diameters. In glass tubes 3 mm. in diameter and 1 mm, wall thickne ss he found 1890 meters per second, and with 4.5 mm. wall thickness 2480 meters. Nitroglycerine gives only about 1500 meters per second at such small diameters-

It is indeed probable that methyl nitrate at larger diameters such as 30 to 40 mm. would give velocities of detonation of far higher magnitudes, such as 6000 t o 8000 m/s.