Ethylene glycol dinitrate

Ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN,NGc), also known as nitroglycol, is a chemical compound a yellowish, oily explosive liquid obtained by nitrating ethylene glycol. It is similar to nitroglycerin in both manufacture and properties, though it is more volatile and less viscous.

History and production

L.Henry was the first who prepared EGDN in a pure state (1870)by dropping small portions of glycole into mixture of nitricand sulfuric acids cooled to 0 deg. A.Kekule previously (1869)nitrated ethylene and obtaned an unstable which be presumedto be Glycole Nitrite-Nitrate, but which in 1920 was shownby Wieland & Sakellarios to be a mixture of EGDN and nitricester beta-Nitroethyl Alcohol .Other investigators preparing NGc before publicationin 1926 of Rinkenbach's work included:Champion (1871), Neff (1899) & Wieland & Sakellarios (1920),Dautriche, Hough & Oehme.Rinkenbach prepared EGDN by nitrating purified glycol obtainedby fractioning the commercial product under pressure of 40mm Hg,and at temp 120 deg. For this 20g of middle fraction of purifiedglycol was gradually added to mixture of 70g nitric acid and 130gsulfuric acid, maintaining the temp at 23 deg.The resulting 49g of crude product was washed with 300ml of waterto obtain 39.6g of purified product.The low yield so obtained could be improved bymaintaining a lower temperature and using a different nitrating acid mixture.

The book of Naoum are describing several methods...
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