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Massive explosion in Beirut

23K views 196 replies 57 participants last post by  SoJ_51 
#1 ·
Not sure if it had been posted yet or not but apparently a massive set of explosions went off in a port in Beirut. The port is basically gone... building had windows, doors, and balconies blown to pieces miles from the blast.

The initial blast was small.. the 2nd blast sent up a mushroom cloud and a massive pressure wave.

People on the ground reporting windows blown from buildings 10km from the site.

I'll post up more vids as I find them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53656220

https://youtu.be/aLUQr7gdiLQ

https://youtu.be/93tV6-0Ugwk

 
#107 ·
Always inquisitive, I looked up the Texas City event.

The ammonium nitrate was coated with hydrocarbons to protect it from absorbing moisture and caking! Holy stupidity Batman!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster
"The ammonium nitrate, needed either as fertilizer or an explosive, was manufactured in Nebraska and Iowa and shipped to Texas City by rail before being loaded on the Grandcamp.[4] It was manufactured in a patented process, mixed with clay,petrolatum, rosin and paraffin wax to avoid moisture caking"

If the stuff in Lebanon had the same coating, then I recant my earlier assessment.
 
#123 ·
The way that stuff was stored there was likely a great deal of loose stuff, dust from the AN and whatever other materials including grain from the nearby silos.

There have been plenty of fires and explosions from dust alone (a sugar refining factory in the Carolinas most recently).

So hypothetically, you have some welders working on the doors. I saw a picture of a crew with a nail set gun , the ones that use a 22 cal cartridge. So a spark, a small dust fire. Convection sets in and stirs up loose dust from rafters and floors and you have a series of concussive explosions.

What amazes me most is that only 50% of the grain silo structure is destroyed, yet everything behind them is entirely gone. It appears that the explosion "hoovered up" everything at ground level while seeking oxygen and blew them skyward.

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#108 ·
#110 ·
Here's a good look at the whole thing. A fire, a smaller explosion, larger fire with popping flashes, then the large explosion. I think there's a sound like a jet at some points in the video. I thought it was a plane but I think the sounds line up with the fires in the video so something was burning off really fast.

https://twitter.com/Jtruzmah/status/1291008312796831744?s=09
 
#111 ·
OMG, this one is crazy.

The ammonium nitrate had caked together from water absorption.
They tried to separate it with pick axes. Too hard for pick axes.

So they used DYNAMITE to break apart the solidified ammonium nitrate.

450 tons exploded.

German safety. BASF 1921 style.

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeli...how-not-to-do-it-breaking-up-ammonium-nitrate

One of the comments is hilarious.

"...Then there’s WIPP where Los Alamos substituted cellulose for clay absorbant and made gun cotton by mixing it with nitric acid.
Radio-active gun cotton"
 
#129 ·
I am having second thoughts about the fireworks factory connection. Is there any corroborating evidence that there was actually a fireworks factory on site?

Alternately the flashes seen prior to the main detonation could be localised detonations of AN dust under conditions where the air / fuel mixture, air pressure and temperature were conducive to small detonations leading up to a sufficient shockwave to detonate the entire AN stockpile.

Think of this as octane knocking in an internal combustion engine.

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#137 ·
Ammonium nitrate explosion hazards 61

https://www.researchgate.net/profil...04701e/Ammonium-nitrate-explosion-hazards.pdf


9. CONCLUSIONS

Ammonium nitrate is a stable compound and generally is difficult to explode

when it is in solid or molten form or in solution. However, ammonium nitrate may

explode when it is exposed to strong shock or to high temperature under confinement.


The presence of certain contaminants may increase the explosion hazard of ammonium nitrate. While certain inorganic contaminants, including chlorides and some metals, such as chromium, copper, cobalt, and nickel may sensitize ammonium nitrate, organic impurities increase the energy of ammonium nitrate explosions. As ammonium nitrate solution becomes more acidic, its stability decreases, and it may be more likely to explode.


In a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, localized areas of high temperature

may be sufficiently confined by the total quantity to initiate an explosion. The

explosion of a small quantity of ammonium nitrate in a confined space (e.g., a pipe) may initiate the explosion of larger quantities (e.g., in an associated vessel).


Low density areas, such as bubbles, in molten ammonium nitrate or solutions,

also may increase the possibility of an explosion and enhance the propagation of an explosion.


Ammonium nitrate by itself does not burn, but in contact with other combustible materials, it increases the fire hazard. It can support and intensify a fire even in the absence of air. Fires involving ammonium nitrate can release toxic nitrogen

oxides and ammonia. A fire involving ammonium nitrate in an enclosed space could lead to an explosion.

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#138 ·
From MSDS. Take note the comment about grain. This AN was stored near a huge grain elevator.. No doubt grain had passed through this building. I doubt it was a sterile environment.

Combine grain and AN dust and add spark.

"We recommend that AN be stored in purpose-built facilities/buildings of non-combustible construction. Dust-producing organic materials, such as grain, seeds and sugar, should not be stored near AN. Some metal powders such as aluminum powder are equally dangerous. AN should be stored so as to ensure it is not contaminated by gasoline, diesel or other fuels, and is not subject to high heat (even in one small area of a large stockpile) or water infiltration."

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#140 ·
..Combine grain and AN dust and ...
Lol, and how, pray-tell, did this "AN dust" get Generated - from inside those sacks, that - if-anything, were Likely at least Partially 'clumped' / fused from sea-side humidity, as has been Accurately pointed out? Oh, I know, from the moths in yer attic. :rolleyes:

..And, not even going to honor the ludicrous 'grain dust' theory (how do ya know it was "grain", and wasn't Sand? Do you Work there? Have a 'manifest'?? :rolleyes:

Sorry, but yer 'dust theory' is, well.. In the dust bin.

Yup. Resort to memes when you have nothing else..
No, I had already sunk yer Babbleship, nothing else was Needed - that was just the sprinkle on top. :thumb: Plus, I just get tired of trying to reason with Concrete Block..

Ciao..
jd
 
#142 ·
It seems strange to me that, if the grain were involved, the silos didn't shatter in the explosion. One side was demolished, the other served to protect people downrange.

The big bang seems to be two-stage; is that correct or is it an artefact of the bang becoming the shock-wave?

I think it's clear that in Arabic 'fireworks' means 'explosives and RPGs'. We need to update Google Translate.
 
#149 ·
The grain silos appear to have been simply destroyed by the AN explosion. I dont think they were the primary ignition point. My theory is that grain and grain dust from the silos had infiltrated the building where the AN was stored over a long time period.

Justme brings up an interesting comment about the prills being coated with petroleum jelly, i dont know if this is true. If so it would become a fuel source to oxidize. I have also read that AN chdmical composition can become unstable if reduced to fine dust.

Whatever, it is clear this stuff was stored in violation of recommended standards. It was ignored and neglected. A time bomb.

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#153 ·
At Texas City, the boat anchor was thrown 2 miles away. :)

In Germany , they had fines because they were dynamiting the AN solid mass to get hunks off to sell.

Fines otherwise would not be generated unless you were grinding the prills up somehow.

Prilled materials are usually mixed with some clay as a binder. Then however much wax and petroleum jelly they add to keep it in a pourable form. That treatment would also serve to reduce any dust potential.

Different production plants might change the recipe slightly per their trade secrets. Not sure.

If there is a surviving record of where the stuff was purchased, (or if you can read the label in the photos), you should be able to get the recipe from the manufacturer.
 
#168 ·
WTF we they thinking?

Sure, store a couple thousand tons of potentially explosive chemical in a down town port warehouse without constant safety measures.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Responsible regulators need to be publicly hung.
 
#169 ·
They apparently could not give the stuff away. Nobody wanted it? They should have loaded it onto barges and taken far into the ocean, dowsed with fuel oil and burned it.

I wonder if after 6 years, those bags they were contained in would have held up long enough to move the stuff once more ?

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