Sella initially thought the material might have been ammonium nitrate because of the intensity of the blast and the orange-brown plume of smoke—a hallmark of nitrogen dioxide from the burning of ...

That suggests a chemical compound like ammonia being involved in the blast, like the 2020 Beirut port explosion, in which ammonium nitrate caught fire and exploded. That cloud also resembled one ...

However, a chemical expert told CNN the explosion was likely sparked by ammonium nitrate, the same chemical compound that created a massive blast in Beirut in 2020 that killed more than 200 people.

“This bears the hallmarks of an ammonium nitrate explosion. Ammonium nitrate is a commodity chemical that is widely used as a fertilizer and as an industrial explosive, but it is well known that ...

Monash University scientists are urging caution around recent claims of breakthroughs in green nitrate fertilizer production, warning there is more work to do before the concept is market-ready.