I make crystallized AN

I make crystallized ammonia-nitrate (AN).  This product is used as one of the main ingredients of most formulas of dynamite.  Most people don’t realize how many different ingredients go into dynamite and how many different recipes of dynamite there are.  Each recipe has a different use, for example some dynamite is formulated so that very little smoke and flash are produced when the product is discharged.  This type of product would be used in a mining situation so that any flammable gases down in the mines won’t be ignited by the blast.  Other types are formulated for the different environments they may be used in. Freezing temperatures, blasting underwater, or sheering blasts used to cut rather that destroy rock all require different types of dynamite.

Not only do I make crystallized AN, I also have to make liquid AN.  I make the liquid AN by combining weak nitric acid and anhydrous ammonia.  I then cook the liquid AN in one of ten stainless steel kettles in the kettle room, so that it will dry and form into crystals.  This process requires that I run the liquid AN through a series of pipes then through a falling film evaporator tower, which removes most of the water from the liquid AN before it is poured into the kettle.  As the liquid product travels through the tower it reaches a temperature somewhere between 320-340 degrees Fahrenheit.  Vapors travel off of the hot liquid when it pours from the pipe into the waiting kettle.   These vapors carry a strong odor of ammonia and burn my sinuses if I breathe too near them.

As soon as the kettle begins filling, the cooking process starts.  The large kettles are six feet in diameter and are three feet deep with two huge plow arms inside spinning and stirring the liquid.  As the liquid travels over the relentless stirring plows it begins to dry out and form crystals.  This part of the process is fun to watch because the material clumps together like wet snow and slams into the bottom of the metal kettle when it passes over the plow arm causing the clumps to splat like a giant snowball when it hits a tree.   After the product is completely dry, I dump a couple of buckets of ingredients into the mix to coat the crystallized AN.

Once the kettle is cooled, I have approximately 2,250lbs in each kettle of crystallized product to send to the dope house.  The dope house is where all the dry ingredients are mixed for each batch of dynamite needed for the day.  The batches are put into large wooden boxes on wheels called hods, and are then shipped by locomotive to the mix house.  The mix house is where the nitroglycerin oil is added to the dry ingredients, making dynamite powder.  The dynamite powder is poured into 4 smaller hods which weigh about 300lbs apiece and are moved around like wheel barrels.  The hods are also transported by locomotive to one of seven different buildings, where it is punched or squeezed into shells creating sticks of dynamite.  These are the sticks that everyone pictures when they think of dynamite.

I really like working for this company for several reasons.  I love my job first off because I get to work alone without someone watching over me constantly.  This job also pays fairly well for this area so I am able to feed all my children without my wife needing to work.  This company is very safety conscious not only about the health of its people and equipment but also for the environment and surrounding community.  One of the things that make this company stand out for me is that they consider the thoughts and ideas of each of their employees as one of the most important resources on the plant.