Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9
A- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- Z
Nitric Acid
Drawing on the German World War II Wasserfall rocket, nitric acid (HNO3) became the early storable oxidizer of choice for missiles and upper stages of the 1950's. To overcome various problems with its use, it was necessary to combine the nitric acid with N2O4 and passivation compounds. These formulae were considered extremely secret at the time. By the late 1950's it was apparent that N2O4 by itself was a better oxidizer. Therefore nitric acid was almost entirely replaced by pure N2O4 in storable liquid fuel rocket engines developed after 1960.

The propellant combinations WFNA/ JP-4 and later IRFNA/JP-4 were the first storable systems given serious consideration in the United States. Problems which caused the abandoning of these propellants were the absence of reliable hypergolic ignition and unstable combustion. IRFNA/UDMH and IRFNA/JP-X finally did prove satisfactory.

The composition of propellant-grade nitric acids is covered by Military Specification MIL-N-7254. The nitric acids are fuming liquids which vary from colorless to brown, depending on the amount of dissolved N2O4. The vapors from these acids have a characteristic pungent odor. They are highly corrosive, toxic, oxidizing agents and attack most metals. They react with most organic materials violently enough to cause fire. The acids are soluble in water in all proportions, with an accompanying evolution of heat. They cannot be made to explode. Approximately 90 per cent of the nitric acid is made by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia with air or oxygen to yield nitric oxide (NO). The latter is oxidized to N2O4 which, when treated with water, yields nitric acid (HNO3) and may be concentrated by distillation with sulfuric acid. Red fuming nitric acids may be produced by passing gaseous N2O4 into nitric acid, a slight modification of the above process. Production of nitric acid was estimated at 3 million metric tons in 1959. The price of RFNA was $ 0.20 per kg in drum lots; IRFNA was slightly higher. The varieties of nitric acid propellants include:





Back to top of page
Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9
A- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- Z
© 1997-2019 Mark Wade - Contact
© / Conditions for Use