XRF TRACING DETECTION OF EXPLOSIVES OF POWDERED AMMONIUM NITRATES

Cerium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (CDBS) or cerium stearate (CSA) was proposed to be used as tracing additives of ammonium nitrate explosives (ANE).Based on the typical X-ray fluorescence spectrum of the CDBS or CSA containing ANE,XRF tracing detection of the explosive was performed by detecting the escape peak of the characteristic Kα1 peak of rare earth element.Energy of the escape peak was found to be 6.11 keV.Relationships between the intensity of the escape peak (Is) and the content of rare earth element and the distance of detection (L),and the time of detection (t),and the amount of explosive (m) were studied and formulated.It was concluded that the proposed method is suitable to be used for the XRF tracing detection of ANE under the following conditions;① content of rare earth element (w)≥0.2%;② time of detection,t≥5 s;③ amount of ANE m≥50 g.