A Study on the Usage of Sawdust in ANFO

摘要

Scientific investigations were carried out to substantiate the usage of sawdust as an additive in conventional ammonium nitrate and fuel oil mixture to reduce the blasting cost to a reasonable level without sacrificing fragmentation, muck profile and wall control. Sawdust lowers the detonation pressure of ANFO to a tolerable level and acts as a low-grade fuel which reacts or burns more slowly in the presence of ammonium nitrate than does fuel oil. The mixture is also poorly oxygen-balanced. It forms a stable homogeneous mixture with much lower density and thereby the loading density reduces significantly. Experiments performed, thus far, at Hirni Limestone Mine of M/s L&T and Lambasta Limestone Mine of M/s Jaypee Rewa Cements showed its novel acceptance in the competitive market with much ease and confidence.