Rail car with ammonium nitrate didn't cause Texas blast: fire official

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5. When AN deflagrates

it give off a Orange cloud. If the heat is not taken away (by flooding with water) it can Detonate as a explosive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflagration
Deflagration (Lat: de + flagrare, "to burn down&quot is a term describing subsonic combustion propagating through heat transfer; hot burning material heats the next ...

This is how smokeless gunpowder propels a projectile.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation

Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives,[1] as well as in reactive gases. The velocity of detonations in solid and liquid explosives is much higher than that in gaseous ones, which allows the wave system to be observed with greater detail (higher resolution).

Gaseous detonations normally occur in confined systems but are occasionally observed in large vapor clouds. They are often associated with a gaseous mixture of fuel and oxidant of a composition, somewhat below conventional flammability limits. There is an extraordinary variety of fuels that may be present as gases, as droplet fogs and as dust suspensions. Other materials, such as acetylene, ozone and hydrogen peroxide are detonable in the absence of oxygen, a more complete list is given by both Stull[2] and Bretherick.[3] Oxidants include halogens, ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxides of nitrogen.

In terms of external damage, it is important to distinguish between detonations and deflagrations where the exothermic wave is subsonic and maximum pressures are at most a quarter[citation needed] of those generated by the former. Processes involved in the transition between deflagration and detonation are covered thoroughly for gasses by Nettleton.[4]

The same smokeless gunpowder can also detonate under certain conditions when confined. Destroying the weapon and sometime the shooter.

I am Just guessing but the dry powder barn caught on fire for some reason and the hot debris fell into the bunker of pure AN at 35% to #38% Fertiler is a mixture or blend of AN, Phosporus, and Potassium (called NPK 10-20-10) or xxx is common. Oil leaking out of a wheel loader or a bob cat loader parked in the same spot every night can cause the fertiler to start self deflagrating and turn to fire then detonate. The AN started to deflagrate and the fire fighters would not be able to remove the heat by flooding due to lack of water and equipement. It burns very hot and produce O2 until it get so hot it detonate like the Texas city ship did.. The Nurse tanks outside with Anhydrous Ammonia may have became part of the explosion as a Fuel air bomb fire explosion. Anhydrous was probably venting off from heat and burned till the AN explosion.. Then the question come up did the anhydrous ammonia heat to 1500F and contribute to the explosion by detonating??


Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives,[1] as well as in reactive gases. The velocity of detonations in solid and liquid explosives is much higher than that in gaseous ones, which allows the wave system to be observed with greater detail (higher resolution).

Gaseous detonations normally occur in confined systems but are occasionally observed in large vapor clouds. They are often associated with a gaseous mixture of fuel and oxidant of a composition, somewhat below conventional flammability limits. There is an extraordinary variety of fuels that may be present as gases, as droplet fogs and as dust suspensions. Other materials, such as acetylene, ozone and hydrogen peroxide are detonable in the absence of oxygen, a more complete list is given by both Stull[2] and Bretherick.[3] Oxidants include halogens, ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxides of nitrogen.

In terms of external damage, it is important to distinguish between detonations and deflagrations where the exothermic wave is subsonic and maximum pressures are at most a quarter[citation needed] of those generated by the former. Processes involved in the transition between deflagration and detonation are covered thoroughly for gasses by Nettleton.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhydrous_ammonia