Polish Nitro-Chem is a European leader in TNT production

The Nitro-Chem company from Bydgoszcz, the only large TNT producer in Europe, will provide 18 thousand. tons of this material for the needs of American arms programs. TNT, used, among others For the production of artillery shells, he has been going to the USA from Polish plants for years.

Nitro-chem plants have concluded another agreement with the American company Paramount Enterprises International. The contract value is PLN 1.2 billion, and its subject is a total of 18 thousand. tonnes of TNT in 2027-2029. TNT produced in Bydgoszcz is to be used to implement American government arms programs, including production of 155 mm artillery shells.

Nitro-chem has been producing a TNT for export for years. First of all, to the United States, but also Great Britain, France, Italy, Sweden and Portugal. As in an interview with PAP was reminded by Andrzej Kiński, editor -in -chief of the monthly “Army i Technik”, the first contracts with the American side were signed several years ago, during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were related to the purchases of goods and services in Poland implemented as part of offset contracts accompanying the purchase of F-16 aircraft by Poland.

Currently, Bydgoszcz plants are the only large manufacturer of TNT in Europe. It is true that at the end of January this year, the Finnish government announced that an explosive factory will be built in the city of Pori, for over 200 million euros, but production does not start there in 2028.

For now, Nitro-Chem has a monopoly on the European market. The production installation located in Bydgoszcz dates from the 70s, but is systematically modernized. The plant fully uses the possibilities of installation at its own. Through investments, it also conducts activities aimed at increasing production. “It is a complicated and long -lasting process. Unfortunately, the TNT factory or hexogen cannot be ordered from the catalog and after half a year of waiting after half a year, and after another three months it is launched” – noted Kiński.

In Bydgoszcz, in addition to Trotyl (TNT), other crushing materials are produced, such as Hexogen (RDX) and Oktogen (HMX). These are also used for the production of artillery shells, min and bombs. However, the process of obtaining them is more complicated, and thus – more expensive. That is why TNT is created the most, because it is the cheapest in production. As in an interview with PAP drew attention to Kiński, there are also no major problems with obtaining ingredients for its production, although of course an increase in the demand for ammunition practically all over the world results in an extension of their delivery time and increases prices.

TNT is an organic compound used as a crushing material. It was discovered in the second half Of the 19th century, and from the beginning of the 20th century it is mainly used in the defensive, mining and construction industries.

Compared to other explosives, it is relatively stable and to explode, he needs a detonator or heating to 240 degrees Celsius. If this happens, the shock wave released as a result of an explosion moves at a speed of almost 7 thousand. meters per second.

The force of an explosion of 1 kg or 1 ton of TNT is a pattern when determining the size of the explosion (regardless of its source). For example, an explosion caused by the ignition of the ammonium nitrate, which occurred at the port of Beirut in August 2020. It had the strength corresponding to the explosion of 1100 tons of TNT. In turn, the American nuclear bomb “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945 caused an explosion comparable to an explosion of 15,000. tonnes of TNT. (PAP)

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