Packaged aqueous slurry type explosives

Claim 2

In a packaged explosive assembly comprising a container, and a pourable mass of an inorganic oxidizer salt explosive of the aqueous slurry type contained therein, said explosive containing a thickening amount of a polyacrylamide-type thickener component, and part of said mass adhering to an inner wall of said container during gravitation of same therefrom, the improvement comprising a lubricant-type release agent within said container for precluding adhesion of portions of said mass to the inner wall of said container during said gravitation, and disposed in direct contact with said mass and with said inner container wall across the mass-inner wall interface.

Claim 3

applying said release agent to said container inner wall prior to introducing said explosive mass into said container with subsequent contact of said release agent with said mass across said interface.

Claim 4

applying said release agent to said container inner wall prior to introducing said explosive mass into said container with subsequent contact of said release agent with said mass across said interface.

Claim 5

A packaged explosive of claim 1 wherein said mass, exclusive of said lubricant, contains from 0.2 to 5 percent of said thickener component, from 8 to 25 percent water, from 20 to 75 percent inorganic oxidizer salt, and from 3 to 50 percent of a sensitizer.

Claim 6

A packaged explosive of claim 2 wherein said container is formed from a plastic.

Claim 7

In a packaged explosive of claim 3, said container having said release agent on said inner wall thereof prior to containing said explosive mass.

Claim 8

In a packaged explosive of claim 3, said mass containing said release agent, prior to being packaged in said container.

Claim 9

A packaged explosive of claim 3 wherein said release agent is a lubricant selected from the group consisting of a fuel oil, a paraffin oil, and a silicone oil.

Claim 10

A packaged explosive of claim 3 wherein the amount of said release agent disposed within said container is from 0.1 to 1.0 percent, based on the weight of said explosive mass.

Claim 11

A packaged explosive of claim 1 wherein said thickener is a mixture of polymers I and II in a polymer I to polymer II weight ratio within the range of from 10:1 to 1:1, as a thickener component imparting thickening action to said slurry while maintaining same pourable; said polymer I being a partially hydrolyzed acrylamide polymer having a degree of hydrolysis such that 15 to 40 percent of the monomeric units therein have been converted to the hydrolyzed form, and the polymer having a molecular weight such that a 1 percent solution of the polymer in distilled water will have a viscosity in the range of 1,500 to 7, 000 centipoises at 25* C., and said polymer II being a cross linked product formed by copolymerizing acrylamide with at least one acrylate selected from the group consisting of ammonium and alkali metal acrylates in an acrylamide to total acrylate weight ratio within the range of from 40:1 to 2:1 in an aqueous solvent medium containing from 30 to 65 weight percent water and selected from the group consisting of water-tertiary butanol, water-acetone, and water-tertiary butanol-acetone, at a temperature of from 0 to 60* C., and cross linking the resulting copolymer as an ingredient of said thickener component during the formation of said explosive composition by action of from 0.001 to 0.1 percent of a polyvalent metal salt cross linking agent therefor, based on the weight of said explosive.

Claim 12

A packaged explosive of claim 8 containing from 0.4 tO 1.5 weight percent of said thickener component.

Claim 13

A packaged explosive of claim 9 containing sodium perchlorate as at least 75 weight percent of the total inorganic oxidizer salt.

Claim 14

A packaged explosive of claim 9 wherein said plastic is a polyethylene.

Claim 15

In a packaged explosive of claim 2 said container having a portion of said release agent on said inner wall thereof prior to containing said explosive mass, and said explosive mass containing the remaining portion of said release agent, prior to being packaged in said container.

Claim 16

In a method for packaging a pourable mass of aqueous slurry-type inorganic oxidizer salt explosive containing a thickening amount of a polyacrylamide type thickener, in a container, and part of said mass adheres to the inner wall of said container when gravitated therefrom, the improvement comprising emplacing a lubricant-type release agent within said container in direct contact with said inner wall and with said mass across the mass-inner wall interface for precluding adhesion of portions of said mass to said inner wall when said mass is gravitated from said container.

Claim 17

In a method for packaging a pourable mass of aqueous slurry-type inorganic oxidizer salt explosive containing a thickening amount of a polyacrylamide type thickener, in a container, and part of said mass adheres to the inner wall of said container when gravitated therefrom, the improvement comprising emplacing a lubricant-type release agent within said container in direct contact with said inner wall and with said mass across the mass-inner wall interface for precluding adhesion of portions of said mass to said inner wall when said mass is gravitated from said container.

Claim 18

In a packaging method of claim 13, emplacing said release agent by at least one of the following routes (1) and (2):

Claim 19

A method of claim 14 wherein said container is formed from a plastic.

Claim 20

A method of claim 15 wherein said release agent is a lubricant selected from the group consisting of a fuel oil, a paraffin oil, and a silicon oil.

Claim 21

A method of claim 16 wherein said container is formed from a polyethylene plastic.

Claim 22

In a method of claim 14, emplacing said release agent in a total amount of from about 0.1 to 1.0 weight percent of said mass.