JPS6325290A - Manufacture of emulsion explosive and equipment for loading explosive therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to explosives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing an emulsion-type explosive in which an oxidizing salt-containing component forms a discontinuous phase in the emulsion, and a continuous phase that is immiscible with this discontinuous phase forms a fuel component. It also relates to loading machines that load Emulsicon explosives.

Such explosives often have water in their oxidizing salt-containing components and are considered "water-in-fuel" emulsions, but if the oxidizing salt-containing components do not contain water, the emulsion is It is considered a "melt-in-fuel" type emulsion.

According to the invention, in the form of an emulsion comprising a discontinuous phase forming an oxidizing salt-containing component and a continuous phase forming a fuel component immiscible with this discontinuous phase and solid at room temperature. A method for producing a packaged explosive comprising the following steps: (a) introducing a density reducing agent into the emulsion; and (II) reducing the density while the emulsion is at an elevated temperature and substantially liquid. (c) loading the explosive containing the density reducing agent; and (d) cooling the packaged explosive with a cooling fluid so that the continuous phase solidifies. This provides a process for the production of emulsion explosives, characterized in that it consists of the steps of entrapping the density reducing agent in the explosive and stabilizing its dispersion.

Preferably, said cooling is effected by forced cooling, whereby a cooling fluid is passed over the encapsulated explosive.

If desired, a solid fuel such as micronized aluminum may be incorporated with a density reducing agent in the compounding process to increase the energy of the explosive.

After introducing the density reducing agent into the base emulsion, it is preferred to subject the explosive to an increased pressure before loading it, this step being particularly advantageous when the density reducing agent consists of air bubbles.

For example, loading can be used to load paper cartridges, but it can also be used to load plastic cartridges, and loading can be carried out using a piston pump or a screw pump that receives and receives the explosive from a container such as a hopper. This can be done by a pump, which can be a positive displacement pump. In this case, the container is pressurized such that the explosive material exiting the container is at an elevated pressure, ie, above atmospheric pressure and, for example, at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure.

The increased pressure can be in the range 50-250 kPa, preferably in the range 100-150 kPa, and the explosive is subjected to this pressure by a gas such as air.

As described below, in certain embodiments of the invention, the container can be in the form of a cylinder with a movable piston, such that the explosive is pressurized indirectly by air through the piston. The explosive charge in the container is placed on one side of the piston, and the pressurizing air is placed on the other side of the piston. The amount of pressurized explosive in the container can be varied within limits in response to differential flow rates of explosive into and out of the container by movement of the piston. The vessel can also be heated with hot water or steam jacket/tracing to maintain an explosive temperature of 80-95°C.

When the explosive is loaded by a piston pump as described above, an outlet valve may be used in operative synchronization with, for example, a pump screw to fill the pump cylinder during each pump stroke or actuation stroke of the pump piston. Placed in communication with the cartridge, while isolating the pump cylinder from the container, and placed in communication with the container, during each return stroke of the pump piston, isolating the pump cylinder from the cartridge being filled. It is. During such return stroke, when explosives flow from the container into the pump cylinder, and as described above, in the absence of pressurization of the container,
A pressure drop occurs across the explosive as it is drawn into the pump, and this pressure drop can be large enough to create a sufficiently low pressure on the explosive that it loses its sensitivity. , this pressure drop appears to result from the disturbance of air bubbles in the explosive. These disturbances may be due to the average bubble size, bubble size distribution, homogeneity of the bubble distribution or spacing within the explosive,
This may be due to one or more of the following: escape of air bubbles from the explosive; However, the inventor has found that if the explosive is maintained at a sufficiently high pressure after it has been formulated, after it has at least begun to form bubbles, and until it is loaded, Loss of sensitivity (desensitization)
can be avoided or at least reduced.

Therefore, after introducing and dispersing the air bubbles into the base emulsion, the explosive can be fed into a container from which it can be loaded into the cartridge via a plurality of parallel nozzles, and the explosive in said container is maintained at an increased pressure. In this case, the explosive charge can be loaded into the cartridge by means of a plurality of positive displacement pumps arranged in parallel, the explosive charge passing through each said pump being maintained at an increased pressure in the pump until it exits from the outlet of the pump. Additionally, air bubbles can be introduced and dispersed into the base emulsion in a compounder operated at elevated pressure, and the explosive is maintained at elevated pressure until it is loaded.

The present invention involves selecting the continuous phase, or at least a component thereof, such that the continuous phase is substantially solid at room temperature and has a softening point above ambient temperature. At temperatures above the softening point, the continuous phase should have a viscosity low enough to form an emulsion itself and low enough to allow the density reducing agent to be introduced and dispersed into the emulsion at normal elevated operating temperatures. The viscosity should be as low as possible.

The elevated working temperatures encountered in the art, for example for the formation of emulsions, are in the range 85-95°C, at which temperatures the viscosity of the continuous phase should be low enough for the introduction and dispersion of gas bubbles: about 35°C. For example, ambient temperatures below °C are encountered. By appropriate selection of waxy components such as wax, rough-in wax and/or microwax in the continuous phase and their proportions, softening points of 35°C or higher and 85°C
The continuous phase can be easily formulated with a sufficiently low viscosity at ~95°C. These temperatures are somewhat arbitrary, and if the explosive is intended to be used at different ambient temperatures, e.g.
gas iB) ÷≠4 If the working temperatures are different, the continuous phase should therefore be formulated if necessary by routine experimentation.

The elevated temperature at which the density reducing agent is incorporated into the emulsion may thus be 85-95°C.

The density reducing agent may consist of air cells or may consist of closed-cell, void-containing materials such as glass or plastic microhollow spheres or microspheres, particles of expanded perlite or the like.

When the density reducing agent is in particulate form, it can be introduced into the base emulsion by a suitable compounder. When the density reducing agent comprises air bubbles, the air bubbles can be introduced, for example, by physically dispersing an inert gas such as nitrogen into the emulsion in a suitable blender or mixer, such as a bottle mill or stationary mixer. Alternatively, a chemical blowing agent can be dispersed into the emulsion in a similar manner, the blowing agent reacting with the emulsion or one of its components to produce air bubbles before the continuous phase of the emulsion solidifies.

For example, the discontinuous phase can contain at least one oxidizing salt selected from the following group: ammonium nitrate, alkali metal nitrate, alkaline earth metal nitrate, ammonium perchlorate, alkali metal perchlorate: and alkaline earth metal nitrate. Metal perchlorates.

Oxidizing salts are those present in the discontinuous phase in the form of an aqueous solution or a melt.

In the case of a melt-in-fuel emulsion or an emulsion in which the discontinuous phase contains an amount of water, if any, the discontinuous phase can solidify at ambient temperature; It is still considered that.

Said discontinuous phase may contain ammonium nitrate together with at least one other compound selected from the group consisting of oxygen-releasing salts and fuels, wherein said other compound together with ammonium nitrate has a melting point lower than the melting point of ammonium nitrate. Form a melt.

Such other compounds may be inorganic salts such as lithium nitrate, silver nitrate, lead nitrate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, or mixtures thereof. Alternatively or in addition to said other compounds, compounds which when heated together with ammonium nitrate form a melt having a melting point lower than that of ammonium nitrate are alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, glycerol,
Other compounds that may be used instead or in addition to form the melt together with ammonium nitrate are carbohydrates such as sugars, starches and dextrins and aliphatic carbons. Acids and their salts can be, for example, formic acid, acetic acid, ammonium formate, sodium formate, sodium acetate and ammonium acetate. Other compounds which may alternatively or additionally be used to form the melt with ammonium nitrate include glycine, chloroacetic acid, glycolic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, adipic acid and lower aliphatic amides such as formamide, acetamide and urea. be. Urea nitrate may also be used, as can nitrogen-containing materials such as nitroguanidine, guanidine nitrate, methylamine, methylamine renitrate and ethylenediamine dinitrate. Each of these materials can be used alone with ammonium nitrate, or mixtures thereof can be used to form an ammonium nitrate melt;
The mixture is selected to form a melt with ammonium nitrate that has a suitably low melting point and is substantially insoluble in the continuous phase.

In general, the material(s) chosen to form the melt with ammonium nitrate will be chosen because, in addition to cost, they will have satisfactory safety and a low melting point, e.g. within the range of 80°C to 130°C. The selection is made according to the criterion of forming a melt with a melting point of 130° C. or higher, but melts with a melting point above 130° C. can in principle also be used.

The fuel is immiscible and insoluble in water and is preferably an organic fuel, the fuel can be non-self-explosive and is a member of the group consisting of hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and nitrated hydrocarbons. may consist of at least l members. As mentioned above, the fuel may, for example, contain one or more waxes such as paraffin waxes, microwaxes and/or slack waxes to adjust the softening point and viscosity of the fuel; the fuel may also contain mineral oils, fuel oils, Lubricant,
It may also contain one or more substances from the group consisting of liquid paraffin, xylene, toluene, petrolatum and dinitrotoluene.

Generally, the water in the discontinuous phase is kept to a minimum consistent with formulating the discontinuous phase and formulating the emulsion at an acceptably low elevated temperature, thus ultimately achieved. This avoids unnecessary waste of energy resulting from steam generated during fanning.

The fuel component of the emulsion may contain at least one emulsifier selected from the following group: sorbitan sesquioleate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan
Monopalmitate, sodium monostearate, sodium tristearate, mono- and diglycerides of lipogenic fatty acids, soybean lecithin, derivatives of lanolin, alkylbenzene sulfonates, oleic acid phosphate, laurylamine acetate, decaglycerol
Decaoleate, decaglycerol decastearate, 2-oleyl-4,4'-bis(hydroxymethyl)
-2-oxazolines, polymeric emulsifiers containing polyethylene glycol backbones with fatty acid side chains and polyisobutylene succinic anhydride derivatives.

Emulsifiers act as surfactants and stabilizers to promote emulsion formation and resist crystallization and/or agglomeration of discrete phases.

Typical oxidizing salts, fuels and emulsifiers used in explosives
i! The proportions are as follows: oxidizing salt 75-95% preferably 91-93%
Emulsifier 0.95-2.0% Preferably 1.0-1.4
The density of the % emulsion is such that it forms a suitable explosive composition after incorporation of density reducing agents such as air bubbles. That is, the base emulsion has, for example, a temperature of about 1.30 to 1.5°C at 25°C.
It has a density of 56g/c+fl. The density of the final explosive is below 1.26 g/cffl after the introduction of bubbles, preferably in the range 1.15-1.20 g/cd at 25°C.

When the oxidizing salt-containing component contains ammonium nitrate at least in part, a chemical blowing agent containing nitrite ions, such as sodium nitrite, is conveniently added at a concentration of, for example, 15 to 30% m/m. It can be used in the form of an aqueous solution with a concentration of 20% m/m, which is incorporated into an emulsion at elevated temperature.

As soon as compounding begins, nitrite ions begin to react with ammonium ions to form nitrogen bubbles according to the following equation:

The chemical blowing agent may thus be an aqueous nitrite solution, and the discontinuous phase containing the ammonium salt and the chemical blowing agent is conveniently mixed into the emulsion by means of a stationary mixer.

In the emulsion range of 20-30 microns e.g. 25
It is desirable to form uniformly distributed bubbles with an average size (diameter) of microns, and it is desirable to form bubbles of relatively uniform size, i.e., a relatively narrow bubble size distribution.
Desired cell size and cell size distribution can be facilitated by selecting appropriate reaction rates and appropriate compounder characteristics.

The reaction rate is controlled by temperature and pH for the nitrite/ammonium reaction described above, with a pH of 3.8 to 4.7 found suitable for temperatures of 85 to 95°C, e.g. A pH of about 4.2 at C is suitable.
Next, the blender preferably takes 60 seconds or less, more preferably 4 seconds or less.
The sodium nitrite solution should be mixed into the base emulsion quickly enough, in less than 0 seconds, until it is substantially homogeneous. This blending is carried out by selecting a stationary mixer/blender such that the disturbance therein resulting from the flow rate through the blender is sufficiently high or by sufficient mechanical agitation. In practice, this rapid dispersion of the density reducing agent into the emulsion is desirable no matter what density reducing agent is used, such as closed cell void-containing materials such as microscopic hollow spheres or nitrogen gas.

The type of sodium nitrite used will depend on the proportion or number of bubbles required, i.e. the final density required for the explosive, and if desired one or more catalysts such as thiourea, thioisocyanate or urea. may be dissolved in the pre-blending discontinuous phase to facilitate the nitrite/ammonium reaction.

Aerated emulsions have unacceptable bubble loss;
Preferably, the cooling is sufficiently rapid before migration or agglomeration occurs, while the air bubbles are preferably homogeneously distributed in the emulsion.

Furthermore, when a wax-based composition is used in the continuous phase, the composition can be used in a Stanhope penetrometer (
hardness of 10 to 16 mm, preferably 13.5 mm, at a maximum expected ambient temperature of 35° C. and a hardness of 5 to 5 mm below said expected temperature, e.g.
For wax-based continuous phases of this type, which conveniently have a drop point of 15°C, e.g. 10°C, cooling should begin as soon as possible after loading, e.g. after 1-5 seconds. or less, and the explosive in the cartridge should cool to the expected ambient temperature within about 12 minutes, preferably 5 to 12 minutes, e.g. no more than 7 minutes, depending on the diameter of the cartridge. .

In this regard, the explosive can be extruded from the compounder to the loader with sufficient agitation to prevent any unacceptable bubble loss or agglomeration, but if there is a risk of such bubble loss or agglomeration, the compounding/loading interval should be small enough,
It should be noted that it should be kept for example 5 seconds or less, eg 1 second.

It is generally preferred to begin no more than 5 seconds after the cooling or loading step is completed.

Similarly, at -1 m, the continuous phase cools down to 1 m after the loading process is completed.
Preferably, it is one that solidifies in 2 minutes or less.

Cooling may be effected by air or water, preferably with a turbulent flow and a cooling fluid sprayed or otherwise applied to/circulated around the cartridge.

Preferably, the cooling fluid is at a temperature of, for example, less than or equal to about 10°C and greater than or equal to about 3°C. Water can be used in plastic cartridges and air can be used in paper cartridges. The upper temperature limit of the cooling fluid is determined by the need to form small wax crystals in the two layers of the continuous phase as it solidifies, thus allowing these wax crystals to form between the bubbles on the one hand and preferably on the other. In this case, the discontinuous phase is formed between the droplets, thereby resisting bubble agglomeration and droplet agglomeration, and forming a discontinuous phase from one droplet to another if the discontinuous phase is crystallized in the droplets. It resists the propagation of crystallization. Thus by forming a more or less solid matrix around the droplets or bubbles, the small wax crystals of the continuous phase act to separate the droplets from each other and to separate the bubbles from each other; Small wax crystals are more effective than larger crystals obtained, for example, in the continuous phase by slow (e.g. natural) cooling, and these large crystals can easily form between adjacent droplets or between adjacent bubbles. is impenetrable.

On the other hand, cooling fluid temperatures below 3°C are undesirable because too rapid cooling will cause undesirable crystallization in droplets of the discontinuous phase; causes a drop of A cooling fluid temperature of about 5°C was found to be adequate, reducing from 90°C to the expected ambient temperature of 35°C in about 7 minutes. A chiller having a cartridge conveyor passing through the chiller can be used for forced cooling, with cooling fluid passing through the chiller.

The speed of the conveyor is adjusted so that the cartridges exit the cooler as soon as they reach the expected ambient temperature.

In this regard, it should be noted that forced cooling has the advantage of preventing expansion of the plastic charge material and avoiding the invisible small wrinkles that occur when the cartridge is cooled, thus giving a product with good appearance. In the case of paper loading materials, where the filled cartridge deforms into an oval shape upon natural cooling, it resists this deformation, which can be a substantial advantage when loading into round holes. .

Therefore, in a particular embodiment of the present, the explosives can be loaded into plastic cartridges and the cooling is carried out by conveying the packaged explosives to a cooler in which cooling water is added to the cartridges. Spray on top. Instead, the explosives are loaded into paper cartridges, and cooling is by transporting the packaged explosives into a cooler that circulates cooling air. As mentioned above, the cooling can be such that the continuous phase is assimilated within 12 minutes or less after the end of the dispersion step, and can be carried out with a cooling fluid at a temperature of 3 to 10°C, and the density reducing agent can be added to the emulsion. Preferably, the elevated temperature at which the dispersion is performed is 85-95°C.

Although the nature can be operated batchwise, it can itself be made into a continuous operation, i.e. the base emulsilone is produced continuously at elevated temperature and fed continuously to the compounder for foam formation, and then It is yet another particular advantage of the nature to feed the formulation into a continuous loading process and the cartridge into a continuous cooling stage. That is, it is preferable that the method is continuous in nature.

For example, the components of the base emulsion are held in a heated storage, such as a tank, and are fed according to their nature in heated flow lines and buffer tanks, compounders.

Processing in heated equipment such as pumps, loaders, etc. followed by cooling. Preferably, this heating is by means of a water jacket to avoid the risk of hot spot formation, the water being at a temperature of, for example, 85-95°C. When using emulsifiers that are sensitive to these temperatures, the emulsifier should be stored at a low temperature, but low enough to match its viscosity, and at temperatures between 85 and 95°C for a short enough period of time to avoid unacceptable disintegration of the emulsion. Preferably, it is introduced into the wood process upstream of the base emulsion that is formulated at locations exposed to temperature. For example, sorbitan monoonilate emulsifiers are exposed to these temperatures for up to 60 minutes, preferably for up to 15 minutes. That is, the real property is 6 before blending the base emulsion.
It is contemplated that the emulsifier is preferably added continuously to the fuel component in less than 0 minutes.

It should be noted that with respect to the cooling devices described above, the cooling rate is important in that it should not be too high or too low. Furthermore, for the reasons mentioned above, cooling should begin as soon as possible after loading, to prevent migration of the density reducing agent and agglomeration and/or loss of air bubbles when used and to prevent insufficient stability. It has the dual effect of preventing the agglomeration of droplets of the discontinuous phase. Of course,
Cooling at too rapid a rate can adversely affect sensitivity and stability by crystallizing discontinuous phases. By using the continuous method of the present invention, handling of large batches is avoided, allowing precise control of cooling and allowing cooling at an appropriate rate immediately after loading. Loading can be carried out immediately after the introduction of the density reducing agent.

The present invention also applies to two
Emulsion explosives in 2M to 32M cartridges, especially 22mm
, 25mm, 29M and 32mm cartridges.

The invention also relates to a loading machine for loading emulsion explosives into cartridges, the loading machine comprising a container delimiting a closed pressurized explosive chamber, the chamber having an explosive inlet and a chamber for transporting the explosive from a chamber. and at least one explosive outlet with a positive displacement pump for pumping the cartridge.

The chamber has movable walls such that forces applied to the walls can pressurize the chamber in a direction that reduces the volume of the chamber.

Instead of and in addition to movable walls, the container can have apertures in its interior for pressurized fluid, thereby pressurizing the chamber and the explosive therein.

In a particular embodiment, the container may be in the form of a cylinder having a piston that is reciprocatable within the cylinder and that divides the interior of the cylinder into a pair of chambers, the explosive chamber and the pressure chamber, the piston containing the explosive charge. A movable wall of the chamber and an opening for pressurized fluid into the container communicate with the pressure chamber. This embodiment thus has two features: a movable wall and an aperture for pressurized fluid.

The piston may have a piston rod projecting from the container through an aperture in the container, the aperture being provided with a sealing device to prevent fluid from flowing through the bloom. The portion of the piston rod protruding from the container may be associated with or connected to a regulating device for regulating the flow of explosives into the container via the explosive inlet.

The explosive chamber can have multiple outlets, each outlet equipped with a conformal pump.

Each pump may be reciprocating and may be a reciprocating piston and cylinder metering pump, with a valve for each pump operated in synchrony with each pump and supplying the explosives forced into the cartridge by the pump. a supply nozzle for each pump, said valve being synchronized with the pump to place its cylinder in communication with the nozzle during each stroke of the pump, but isolating the cylinder from the explosive chamber; During each return stroke of the pump, the cylinder is placed in communication with the charge chamber, but isolated from the nozzle. Each valve may be a rotary valve and may be synchronized with the combined pump by being operatively associated with the combined pump or by being connected to the combined pump.

The invention will now be described by way of example, but not limited to, with reference to the following examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.

FIG. 1 is a flow sheet of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method of the invention in which the density-reducing agent comprises air bubbles; FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the method of the invention in which the density-reducing agent comprises hollow microspheres. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the loading machine of the present invention.

In the drawings reference number 10. represents a flowchart of an apparatus implementing the method of the invention. The device 10 includes a wax reservoir 1
2, an oil feed line 14 from a tank group (not shown), and a surfactant storage section 6.

The wax reservoir 12 has a flow line 1 with a weighing location 20
The oil feed line 14 connected to the wax holding tank 22 by 8 is connected to flow lines 24 and 26 with shutoff valves.
are connected to the wax holding tank 22 and the oil holding tank 2, respectively.

The surfactant reservoir 16 is a tank and is connected to a surfactant storage tank 34 by a flow line 30 having a pump 32 . The holding tanks 22, 28 and 34 are mixing vessels having internal mechanical stirring blades as shown.

Holding tanks 22, 28 and 34 each have a flow line 36
．． Metering pump 42° along 40 and 41 44 and 46
and each of the flow lines is provided with a shutoff valve. The metering pumps 42 , 44 and 46 are fed to a common flow line 54 via flow lines 48 , 50 and 52 respectively equipped with isolation valves, which flow line 54 is connected to a stationary mixer 56 .
supplied through the Flow conduits 48.50 and 52 include branch flow conduits 58.60 and 62, respectively;
Each branch pipe carries liquid to a wax holding tank 2.
2. A shutoff valve is provided for recirculating the oil back into the oil holding tank 34 and the surfactant holding tank 34.

Stationary mixer 56 supplies the mixture to liquid fuel holding tank 66 along common flow line 54 via fluid rotameter 64 . Oxidizing solution and oil supply lines 68 and 70 both lead from the tank group to an oxidizing solution holding tank 7.2 and an oil flush tank 74, respectively. Tanks 66 and 72 are connected to flow lines 76 and 7, respectively.
The raw material is supplied to the emulsifying device 80 via 8. flow line 7
6 is equipped with a pump 82 and a fluid rotameter 84, and flow line 7 is similarly equipped with a pump 86 and a fluid rotameter 88. Flow lines 76 and 7 are provided with branch flow lines 90 and 92, respectively, for recirculating liquid fuel and oxidizing solution to tanks 66 and 72, respectively. Tanks 66 and 72 are mixing tanks equipped with stirring blades, and fluid line 92 is equipped with a shutoff valve.

The oil flash kunk 74 is connected to a flow line 94 with a shutoff valve.
A flow line 96 with a shutoff valve leads to the oil flush tank 74 via flow line 9o. In this regard, in flow conduits 76 and 78, respective pumps 82 and 86 are upstream of respective rotameters 84 and 88, and each of flow conduits 76 and 78 has a shutoff valve, each of which is in combination with upstream of pumps 82,86, flow line 90 branches from flow line 76 with a three-way isolation valve between rotameter 84 and emulsifier 80; It should be noted that between the emulsifying device 80 and the emulsifying device 80 the flow line 7 is branched off with a three-way shutoff valve. Flow line 94 enters flow line 76 between pump 82 and the isolation valve in line 76 .

Emulsifier 80 communicates with dry dope compounder 100 via flow line 98, which includes a branch flow line 102 that branches from a three-way valve to a waste site (not shown). There is.

The pulverized aluminum reservoir 104 is in continuous communication with a hopper 112 via a flow line 106, a hopper 108, and a visibility auger 110, which in turn communicates with a hopper 112 via an auger 114 and a flow line 116. It is continuously connected to the blender 100.

The sodium nitrite storage 118 is a mixing tank equipped with stirring impellers and a foaming compounder 124 via a pump 120 feeding a flow line 122.
The blender has a discharge flow line 128 .

Blender 100 feeds a blended product pump 134 via flow line 130 and hopper 132, which discharges via flow line 136 to foam compounder 124; Immediately upstream of 124 flow line 13
Enter G. Flow line 128 leads to the charge [140]. Flow line 136 includes a branch flow line 142 that branches from the three-way valve to a waste site (not shown).

The loader 140 feeds via a cartridge chute or slide 144 to a cartridge conveyor 146 which communicates with a cooling system 148. The cooling device 148 is generally referred to as 152 via the shoe eye 50, and the cooling device W
154 into a packaging facility or location.

- The cooling device 148 is a so-called helical chiller of the type used in the food industry for cooling processed foods such as hamburger pies. The inventors have found that this device is perfectly suitable for cooling explosive cartridges. The device is Grenc.

It can be procured from 5outh Africa. The cooling device 148 is of stainless steel construction and has a variable speed spiral conveyor therein which transports the articles to be cooled from the lower end of the cooling device 148 fed by the conveyor 146 to its upper end. The variable speed conveyor then feeds the chute 150. The cooling device 148 has a number of suitably spaced nozzles therein for spraying cooling water or recirculated cooling air onto the articles being passed through the device. .

In the drawing, the cooling bag W148 is the pump/blower 15.
8 and is connected to a flow line 156 which is connected to a refrigeration system 160. Flow line 162 is connected to refrigeration system 16
0 and branches into three feed lines 164, each equipped with a shutoff valve and each leading to a nozzle inside the cooling device 148.

Regarding the equipment 10 shown in the drawings, tanks 22 and 28
It should be noted that the tanks are equipped with steam coils and the various flow lines conveying the contents of these tanks downstream to the loader 140 are equipped with water jackets. These water jackets have water circulating through them at approximately 95°C.

The jacketed flow lines include flow lines 36 and 38;
There are flow lines 48, 50 and 54, recirculation flow lines 58 and 60, flow line 76 and recirculation flow line 90 and flow lines 98, 102, 136 and 142. flow line 6
8 goes with steam. Various other devices such as tank 66 have low pressure steam coils at the same temperature, as well as devices such as emulsifiers, compounders, pumps, mixers, rotameters, etc., if desired and practicable. or at least such devices can be wrapped in thermal insulation to prevent heat loss. In this regard, the water jacket should be heated to 95°C.
A heat generator is shown at 166 along with a pump 168 in combination to provide high temperature water. Tank 72, along with flow lines 78 and 92 and feed line 68, are steam-jacketed to eliminate solution fudging problems.

Similarly, tank 34 and associated flow lines 52 and 62 are provided with electrical heating means to provide approximately 3.5 mm
Maintain a temperature of ~40°C.

Finally, it should be noted that a wheelbarrow for transporting boxes of packaged explosives is shown at 170 downstream of packaging station 152.

After the wax is weighed at the weighing place 20, it is stored in the wax storage 12.
From there, it is transported along flow line 18 to tank 22 . Melt the wax at 90°C in tank 22.
Circulate with a stirring blade.

Oil from flow line 14 flows along flow line 26 to tank 2.
Proceed to step 8 where it is mixed and heated to 90°C.

Wax blend from tank 22 is forced via metering pump 42 along flow lines 36 and 48 into flow line 54 and oil from tank 28 is similarly forced by metering pump 44 into flow line 40. and 50 into flow line 54 .

At the same time, the surfactant is pumped from the surfactant reservoir 16 along a flow line 30 by a pump 32 to a tank 34 where it is electrically heated to 35-40°C. Flow lines 41 and 52
along the flow line 54. In this regard,
Even if flow along flow line 54 is stopped for any reason, metering pumps 42, 44 and 46 may continue to operate, each pumping wax formulation to a tank along flow line 54. 22 to recirculate the oil to flow line 6.
It should be noted that the surfactant is recirculated along flow line 62 to tank 2B and the surfactant is recycled along flow line 62 to tank 34.

In flow line 54 , mixing of the emulsifier, wax formulation, and oil takes place in a stationary mixer 56 and the flow is metered by a rotameter 64 . This mixed fuel formulation proceeds along flow line 54 to tank 66.

The oxidizing solution from the tank location advances simultaneously along flow line 6 to tank 72, and the fuel and oxidizing solution travel from tanks 66 and 72, respectively, to combined pumps 82 and 86.
and are simultaneously pumped through flow lines 76 and 78 to emulsifier 80 . In this regard, if flow through emulsifier 80 is stopped for any reason, pump 82 can recirculate fuel to tank 66 via flow line 90; It should be noted that the oxidizing solution can be recycled to tank 72. Flow line 70 is for supplying flushing oil from a tank location, which oil is stored in tank 74 and used via flow lines 94, 90 and 96 to flow line 90.
can be connected to flush the upstream flow line 76 and flush the pump 82, flow line 90, and tank 66.

In emulsifier 100, the fuel and oxidizing salt solution are emulsified, and the emulsified fuel/oxidizer base emulsion passes from emulsifier 80 along flow line 98 to blender 100, when desired, e.g. If the flow through 100 is stopped for any reason, flow line 102 is for conveying this flow to a waste site.

When using sorbitan oleate as an emulsifier,
At 35-40° C. the flow of emulsifier along flow line 52 enters flow line 54 near stationary mixer 56 so that
The emulsifier is dispersed into the fuel immediately after its temperature rises to 90° C. in flow line 54. Furthermore, the liquid fuel tank 6
The volumes of 6 and the lengths of flow lines 54 and 76 are selected such that emulsifier-containing fuel entering flow line 54 passes through emulsifier 80 within 15 minutes after entering flow line 54. The reason for this is that the temperature of sorbitan oleate is 90°C.
This is because the emulsion must be generated quickly since the emulsion will be decomposed in the process.

At the same time, pulverized aluminum is fed from storage 104 along flow line 106 and through hopper 108 to auger 110 . Auger 110 advances the pulverized aluminum through hopper 112 and auger 114 via flow line 116 to formulation a 100.

In blending [100, the base emulsion from emulsifier 80 is blended with micronized aluminum from flow line 116. From formulation a 100, the base emulsion/aluminum mixture advances via flow line 130 and hopper 132, through pump 134 and flow line 136, and through density gauge 138 to compounder 124. at the same time,
Sodium nitrite is supplied by pump 120 from reservoir 118 along flow line 122 to compounder 124 . In compounder 124, the sodium nitrite is compounded into the base emulsion/aluminum mixture, and the compounded explosive then proceeds from compound a 124 along flow line 128 to loader 140 where the explosive is continuously and automatically Load the medicine into the cartridge. The blender 124 may have a water jacket or heat insulator to keep its temperature as low as 90°C.
Keep it close. If loader 140 ceases operation, the formulated base emulsion may proceed along flow line 142 to a waste site.

The cartridges filled with explosives are transferred from the loading machine 140 to the chute 14.
4 to conveyor 146 and conveyor 1
46 to a cooling device 148 . The cartridges advance upwardly through a cooling device 148 where they are cooled either with water sprayed onto the cartridges or with air directed toward the cartridges, depending on whether the cartridge material is a plastic material or paper. cooled down. The cooled cartridge emerges from the top of the cooling device 148;
It advances via a chute 150 to a packaging station 125 where it is packaged into cartons, then weighed in a weighing device 154 and removed in a wheelbarrow, for example as shown at 170.

Depending on the location, depleted cooling water or cooling air may be transferred from the cooling device 148 by a pump/blower 158 to a flow line 156.
through the refrigeration system 160 where it is continuously cooled and then returned along flow line 162 to flow line 164. .

The base emulsion entering the compounder 124 contains ammonium nitrate, and ammonium ions in the compounded explosive react with nitrite ions from sodium nitrite to reduce the density in the explosive according to the following reaction equation: Generates nitrogen bubbles as an agent. These bubbles form and grow in the explosive in flow line 128 and loader 140 and the loaded cartridge, and flow through flow line 6.
The pH of the oxidizing solution from 8 is adjusted to approximately 4.0, and the oxidizing solution contains the thiourea promoter for the reaction.

Regarding the operation of the cooling device 148, water is sprayed into the cooling m 148 at about 7°C or air is sprayed at about 5-7°C;
A variable speed conveyor in the cooling device 148 keeps the cartridges at 35°C.
The velocity is set such that it emerges along chute 150 at a temperature of: In this regard, the volume of cooling device 148 is selected such that its throughput of cartridges is greater than the throughput of loader 140 and the retention time of the cartridges in cooling device 14B is approximately 7 minutes. It should be noted that Furthermore, the chute 144 and conveyor 146 are selected and configured to transport the cartridges from the loader 140 to the chiller 148 quickly, preferably in about 1 to 5 seconds, yet without unacceptable migration of air bubbles. selected and configured to initiate cooling in the cooling device 148 before separation occurs in the hot explosive in the cartridge; and the continuous fuel phase of the explosive solidifies and crystallizes in a fine grained or crystalline structure. It should be noted that it is selected and configured as follows.

The short interval between loading and cooling also helps to prevent unacceptable agglomeration or loss of air bubbles introduced into the packaged explosive, and the wax component of the emulsion remains at 35°C.
selected to ensure solidification of the wax at temperatures above
Rapid solidification of the emulsion traps and locks in place air bubbles in the explosive product as well as traps and locks in the discrete phase droplets formed by the oxidizing solution.

In the improved process flow diagram shown in FIG. 2, the sodium nitrite reservoir is replaced by a micro-hollow sphere reservoir 118 which is connected via a flow line 120 with a pump 122 to a hopper with an auger 126. 124 and then to blender 100 via flow line 128 . The bomber 124 is degassed by a degassing device 170 connected to the hopper 124 by a flow conduit 172, and a handcart transporting boxes of packaged explosives is depicted as 174.

In tests conducted in the facility 10 shown in the drawings, it was found that rapid cooling of the explosive produced a continuous phase of the emulsion produced by the fuel components, producing relatively small crystals. These crystals penetrate between the droplets of the discontinuous oxidizing salt phase, separating the crystals and resisting their agglomeration, while the wax crystals also penetrate between the bubbles of the explosives in the cartridge. It maintains a uniform dispersion of wax crystals over time and prevents or at least resists agglomeration and loss of air bubbles. This forced cooling begins before any substantial natural cooling of the cartridge has taken place, and forced cooling should be contrasted with natural cooling, where the continuous phase gradually crystallizes out, producing large crystals, and without the drawbacks. Furthermore, if the cooling is carried out too quickly or with too cool a cooling fluid, undesired crystallization of the discontinuous phase may occur, with the disadvantage of reduced stability. It was recognized that

Referring to FIG. 3, a loading machine suitable for the flowcharts and methods of FIGS. and a container 172 (encased in a jacket visible at 140 in FIG. 1). Container 172 acts as a cylinder, and a viston 178 closes explosive chamber 174.
and a pressure chamber 17G, which together with said piston form a piston and cylinder arrangement;
78 is capable of sliding vertically along the interior of container 172 and rests, for example, in an upright position as shown.

The piston 178 has a piston rod 1 projecting upwardly from the top of the container 172 through a substantially gas-tight seal at 182.
It has 80. Pressure chamber 176 communicates at the top of vessel 172 via gas line 184 with a source of air (not shown) under pressure of approximately 125 kP, pressure. Flow line 184 has a shutoff valve 185.

At the bottom of the container 172, the explosive chamber 174 has a neck 186 that provides an outlet for the explosive, and into the neck 186 a flow conduit 128 (
1) and is an extension of flow line 128, with a flow control valve 189 shown in flow line 188.

The outlet 186 communicates via a rotary valve 190 with a piston pump 192 having a piston 194 and a cylinder 196. The rotary valve 190 is synchronized with the piston 194 and is operatively connected to the piston 194 by means (not shown) of the cylinder 196 such that the cylinder 196 is closed to the outlet 1 during each return or suction stroke of the piston 194.
86 and, with each actuation or pumping stroke of piston 194, is disposed in communication with metering nozzle 198. In this regard, one nozzle 198
Although shown in FIG. 3, there may be several (for example up to 12) nozzles connected in parallel with each other and each fed by a pump 192 operating in synchrony. The return stroke of piston 194 is in the direction of arrow 199 and the working stroke of piston 194 is in the force direction of arrow 199. For ease of explanation, valve 190, pump 1
Although only 92 and nozzle 198 are shown, if several valves, pumps, and nozzles are present, the outlet neck can simply communicate with a manifold having multiple outlets to which valve 190 is connected and the outlet via valve 190.

Pump 192 is connected to valve 1 by a connection illustrated by dotted line 200.
90; piston rod 180 is shown in combination with control means indicated by dotted line 202 leading to valve 189.

In the loading machine (FIG. 3), the pressure chamber 176 is connected to the conduit 18.
A pressure of, for example, 125 kP is maintained continuously with compressed air from 4. The explosives to be loaded are in artificial passageway 188 (
Flow conduit 128 in FIG. 1) more or less continuously under pressure into explosive chamber 174 and into one or more cartridges (not shown) via one or more nozzles 198 by pump 192. It is pushed out from the explosive chamber 174. In this regard, valve 190
, the operation of pump 192 and one or more nozzles 198 is substantially conventional. However, via the control means 200 and the valve 189 the position of the piston rod 180 is controlled by the explosive chamber 17.
It should be noted that the amount of explosive in 4 remains between the desired limits. 125 kP via flow line 184.

It is also important to recognize that pressurizing the pressure chamber 176 provides substantially new and unprecedented advantages.

That is, if this pressure is maintained at 125 kP, i.e. at an increased pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, the explosive chamber 17
ensuring that the explosive charge in 4 is always maintained at substantially the same elevated pressure of about 175 kP through piston 178. The explosive charge must be supplied to the chamber 174 via passage 188 at a pressure sufficient to cause it to flow into the chamber 174, and this supply may be provided by, for example, a suitable pump (
It is concluded that this can be done via (not shown).

Because the explosive in chamber 174 is at a substantial pressure, pump piston 194 moves along the return stroke in cylinder 196 as if the explosive in chamber 174 were not pressurized.
Explosive chamber 1 is moved during the return trip until the pressure drops below atmospheric pressure.
74 and entering cylinder 196 does not create any pressure drop. Valve 190 and nozzle 19B
During the subsequent actuation stroke of piston 194, which forces the explosive charge through the cartridge into its associated cartridge, the pressure in the explosive charge advancing to one or more cartridges remains at a pressure above atmospheric pressure. Of course.

In fact, bearing in mind that the pressure is filled with compressed gas (air) to 125 kP, and bearing in mind that the volume of the cylinder 196 is relatively small compared to the volume of the pressure chamber 176, the valve 190 is connected to the explosive chamber 174. From cylinder 196
The pressure in the explosive remains substantially above atmospheric until it shuts off, at which point the pressure of the explosive drops to atmospheric or slightly above atmospheric. In this regard, it should be noted that in FIG. 3, pump 192 is shown on an enlarged scale with respect to vessel 12°2 for ease of explanation.

According to the findings of the present inventor, as described above, the container 17
Pressurizing 2 prevents or at least reduces desensitization of the explosive, which may result from the desired agglomeration and/or migration of air bubbles present in or forming in the explosive in the container 172; The agglomeration and/or migration occurs when the pump 192 sucks the explosive from the bottom of the container 172, and when the container 172 is not pressurized, i.e., at atmospheric pressure, the pressure in the explosive drops below atmospheric pressure. It occurs in response to.

Referring to FIG. 3, the piston rod 180 is connected to a device that acts as an explosive water regulator in the vessel 172.
(not shown). That is, when container 172 is nearly full of explosives, piston rod 180 can act to stop the supply of explosives to chamber 174 via line 188, yet the level of explosives in container 172 has fallen. It is possible to set up the explosive supply to be reloaded at the same time. Explosives in the explosive chamber 174 are kept to a minimum to reduce waste in the event of an interruption or shutdown of the operating system.

1. A packaged oil-in-water emulsion explosive having the following composition is produced by the method of the present invention described above and by the equipment shown in the drawings, all units being expressed as parts based on mass: Shellfish ammonium acid (88χm/n+zhi1?猾ω 79.
54 77.88 76.146 Sodium
13.07 12.1) 12
．． 51 Thiourea C (dissolved in TIn-stimulated ammonium solution) Erosion power 0.1 0.1
Added to 0.1 water 0 dense ammonium solution>
0.78 0.47 0.7P95 oil
0.99 0.8 0.
66 Krill 4 1.
39 1.17 1.00 (Sorbitan Monooleate Milk (IJI) Paraffin Wax (Aristo)
2.02 1.66 1.4 Micro wax 2.02
1.66 1.4 (BE 5QUARE Ambe
r) Fatfl-formed Flumie fulminium ramex 202
2) 3.5 6.00 Sodium Suboxide 6Yw - Average - Four sides
-Total of four books 100.
00 100.00 100.00 Cold density (g/
mj2) 1.15 1.
18 minutes - 1 minute sword, eel, frog, sword, sword, carp, ammonium nitrate (882m/m water? 79.
58 77.92 76.18 Sodium nitrate
13.0? 12.67
12.510-sided ammonium) Dissolved in Liuya) Thiourea C erode 0.06
0.06 0.06 water awJ1. (added to ammonium solution) 0.78 0.47 0.
70P95 oil 0.99
0.80 0.66 Milk Ihi? I
1.39 1.
17 1.00 paraffin wax (Nippo
n150/155) 2.63 2.16
1.82 micro wax 1
．． 41 1.16 0.98 (Indrami
c 7080) Micronized aluminum (Supramex 2022)
Nil 3.50 6.00 Sodium nitrite 0.09 0.09
0.09 total
100.00 100.00 100.00Cold density 1.12- 1.1
2- 1.12-1.188/m11.18g/m1
．． 18g/m1 warm-min Ammonium nitrate (88X m/m water?g/ω)
76.51? 4.44 72.86 Sodium nitrate 12.57 12
．． 13 11.97ay rented ammonium solution? water (added to 'El perammonium solution)
0.75 0.66 0.67P95 oil 0.95 0.77 0
．． 64 krill 4 1.34
1.12 0.96 (Sorbitan Monooleate Milk (IJ'D Paraffin Wax (Aristo)
1.94 1.59 1.35 Micro wax 1.94 1.
59 1.35 (BE5QIJARE Amber
) 3M B23150 Women's Small Hollow Ball 4.
00 4.20 4.20 Cold density (g/cJ
) 1.10-1.15 1.10-
1.15 1.10-1.15 Warm delivery
Let's follow the shaku and take the shaku.

Ammonium nitrate (88Xm/m water? ω 76.
51? 4.44 72.86F+Kin Sodium 12.57 12.13
．． 11.97 added to the ammonium solution)) water (added to the Tri!m7 ammonium solution)
0.75 0.66 0.67P95 oil
0.95 0.77 0.
64 soybean lecithin 0.67
0.56 0.48 krill 4
0.67 0.56 0.118(
Sorbitan monooleate IEJID paraffin wax (Aristo) 1
．． 94 1.59 1.35 Micro wax 1.94 1. ．． 59
1.35 (BE 5QUARE Amber) 3M B2315 micro hollow sphere 4.0
0 4.20 4.20 Micronized aluminum (S
upramex 2022) 3.5
6.00 total 1
00.00 100.00 100.00 Cold density (g/a+1) 1.10-1.15
1.10-1.15 1.10-1.15 P95 mineral oil was obtained from BP South Africa and Crtll 4 was obtained from Croda Chemicals South Africa.

Paraffin wax (Astro) is 5asol C
Aristowax was obtained from Chemicals, and N1ppon150/155 was obtained from Industria.
The paraffin wax was obtained from Raw Materials; the microwax was obtained from Bareco.
BE 5QIJARE Amber 1 manually made by the company
75, Industrial Raw Mate
Indramic 7080 obtained from Rials
It is. The micro hollow spheres were 3M B obtained from 3M South Africa.
231500 glass micro hollow sphere, Suprame
x 2022 Micronized Aluminum is HulettAlu
Obtained from minium. Soybean lecithin is Ho1
Obtained from Pro Chemicals.

In samples 4-6 and 10-12 the emulsifier is a 50:50 m/m mixture of Kryl 4 and soy lecithin.

The sample was cooled to a temperature of 15-18°C. The medicine package is 19
Those with pleated lengths of 5 to 205 mm were used to form drug packaging diameters of 25 mm and 32 mm.

In each case explosives were obtained with good sensitivity and good stability/shelf life. Packets formed by the method of the invention were found to have a packaging life of 9 to 12 months, compared to about 6 months for controls that omitted forced cooling, and control explosives manufactured in a similar manner. It is manufactured using natural cooling. It was also found that the initial sensitivity was improved with respect to the control by forced cooling, and this improvement is believed to be due to the absence of agglomeration of discrete phase droplets.

The explosive composition of the present invention is highly sensitive and can be ignited with a 2D detonator containing 22.5 μ of pentaerythritol tetranitrate. The firing speed was in the range of 4.0 to 4.7 km/sec, and the gear sharpness was approximately 501111[+]. The bubble energy varies from 1,80 to 1,21 J/kg. Even after severe handling, the explosives performed satisfactorily.

In order to explain the effect of pressurizing the container 172 (FIG. 3), an example of an explosive composition having the following composition was manufactured.

Bottom-vertical χm/m Ammonium nitrate (88Zm/m aqueous solution) 79.54 Sodium nitrate 13.07 Thiourea
0. lO water
0.7B mineral oil
0.99 Sorbitan monooleate 1.39 Parafine wax 2.63 Micro wax 1.41 Sodium nitrite 0.09 Mineral oil is P95 mineral oil obtained from BP South Africa; Sorbitan monooleate is from Croda Chemical Kryl 4 emulsifier obtained from South Africa; paraffin wax 5
The microwax was Be 5quare Amber wax obtained from Tlareco.

This composition yielded 1.15 g/mj under controlled conditions! When the foam was foamed to a density of , it could be detonated with a detonator containing 22 mg of pentaerythriate tetranitrate (Pt!TN) and had a detonation speed of 4.5 km/sec.

A composition as described above was prepared on the Tsukame Charcoal but with a sodium nitrite content sufficient to give a density of 0.9 g/ml and a second
Loading is done using a loading machine of the type shown in the figure, however, pipe line 18
4 without any pressurization, ie, with line 184 open to the atmosphere.

After loading and cooling the product, the density is between 1.35 and 1°4.
0 g/ml and the product was found to be non-sensitizing to Bakugou with 780 μ of PETN.

1.17g of sakai charcoal top //! The same composition as in Example 1 was prepared with enough sodium nitrite to give a density of
Loaded using the same loading machine, except that container 172 was loaded with 50k
p, ~250 kP, and the following results were obtained; densities were obtained in the range 1.17-1.20 g/ml. The product was sensitive to firing with a 44-88 mm PETN-containing detonator at firing speeds of 3.5-4.0 km/sec.

Similar results were obtained with direct air pressurization of the explosive, ie, without the use of piston 178.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow sheet of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention in which the density reducing agent is a gas bubble; FIG. 2 is a flow sheet for carrying out a modified example of the method of the present invention in which the density reducing agent is a hollow microsphere. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the loading machine of the present invention. In the figure, 124 is a blender, 140 is a loading machine, 148 is a cooling device, 174 is an explosive chamber, 176 is a pressure chamber, and 192 is a piston pump. FIGURE 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An emulsion comprising a discontinuous phase that forms an oxidizing salt-containing component and a continuous phase that is immiscible with the discontinuous phase and forms a fuel component that is solid at room temperature. A method for producing a packaged explosive in the form of: (a) introducing a density reducing agent into the emulsion;
dispersing a density reducing agent into the emulsion while the emulsion is at an elevated temperature and substantially liquid to form an explosive; (c) loading an explosive containing the density reducing agent; and (d) A process for producing an emulsion explosive, characterized by the step of cooling the packaged explosive with a cooling fluid so that the continuous phase solidifies, thereby trapping the density reducing agent in the explosive and stabilizing its dispersion. . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the density reducing agent comprises a material containing voids of cells and closed cells. 3. The components of the base emulsion are continuously blended to form a base emulsion, and the base emulsion thus formed is continuously fed to a blender (100, 124 (Figure 1)), where the emulsion is mixed. is successively combined with a density reducing agent to form a sensitive emulsion explosive, the explosive thus formed is continuously loaded, and the cartridge is then continuously cooled, the formulation and packaging being as follows. 3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the process is carried out at elevated temperatures, where the components of the agent emulsion are liquids. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the density reducing agent comprises air bubbles generated by incorporating nitrite into a base emulsion containing an ammonium salt in the discontinuous phase of the base emulsion. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cooling is performed by forced cooling, thereby causing the cooling fluid to flow over the packaged explosive. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the density reducing agent consists of air bubbles, and after introducing the air bubbles into the emulsion, increasing pressure is applied to the explosive before loading the explosive. 7. After introducing and dispersing the air bubbles into the base emulsion, the explosive is supplied to the container (172) and loaded from the container into the cartridge through the plurality of parallel nozzles (198), and the explosive is loaded into the cartridge through the plurality of parallel nozzles (198), 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the explosive therein is maintained under elevated pressure. 8. In a loading machine for loading emulsion explosives into cartridges, the chamber consists of a container (172) delimiting a sealed pressurized explosive chamber (174), which chamber has an explosive entrance (188).
) and at least one explosive outlet (186) with a positive displacement pump (192) for pumping the explosive from the explosive chamber (174) into the cartridge. 9. The container (172) has a piston (178) that can reciprocate inside the cylinder and divides the inside into a pair of small chambers (174, 176), namely an explosive chamber (174) and a pressurized chamber (176). It is in the form of a cylinder, the piston (178) forming the movable wall of the explosive chamber (174) and the opening (184) to the container (174) for pressurized fluid forming the pressure chamber (174).
176) The loading machine according to claim 8, wherein the loading machine is electrically connected to 176).