Use of Triacetone Triperoxide in the Food Industry
The food additive acetone peroxide can be safely used in flour, bread and rolls, as long as the identity standards do not prevent its use and meet the following requirements:
(a) This additive is a mixture of monomeric and linear dimeric acetone peroxide, along with small amounts of higher polymers, produced by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and acetone.
(b) The additive can be mixed with an edible carrier to give a concentration of: (1) 3 to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of additive, plus carrier, for flour ripening and bleaching; (2) Per 100 grams of additive Gram additive is about 0.75 grams hydrogen peroxide equivalent, plus carrier, used for dough conditioning.
(c) It is used or intended to be used: (1) For the ripening and bleaching of flour, in amounts not exceeding those sufficient to achieve this effect; (2) As a coarse conditioning agent in the manufacture of bread and rolls, in amounts not exceeding The amount of hydrogen peroxide required for the artificial curing effect.
(d) To ensure the safe use of the additive, the label of a food additive container and any intermediate premix thereof shall contain, in addition to other information required by the Act:
(1) The name of the additive is "acetone peroxide".
(2) The concentration of the additive, expressed in terms of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams.
(3) Provide adequate instructions for use of the end product that comply with the limitations specified in paragraph (c) of this section.
What is tripacetone triperoxide?
Acetone peroxide (also known as APEX and Mother Satan) is an organic peroxide and detonator. It is produced by the reaction of acetone and hydrogen peroxide to produce a mixture of linear monomers and cyclic dimers, trimers and tetramers. This dimer is called diacetone diperoxide (DADP). This trimer is called triacetone triperoxide (TATP) or tricycloacetone peroxide (TCAP). Acetone peroxide is a white crystalline powder with a unique bleach-like odor (when impure) or fruit-like odor when pure. If exposed to heat, friction, static electricity, concentrated sulfuric acid, or strong ultraviolet light, it will explode violently. radiation or shock. Until around 2015, explosives detectors were not programmed to detect non-nitrogen explosives, as most explosives used before 2015 were nitrogen-based. TATP does not contain nitrogen and has been used as the explosive of choice in several terrorist bombings since 2001.
Acetone peroxide history
Acetone peroxide (specifically tripacetone triperoxide) was discovered in 1895 by German chemist Richard Wolffenstein. Wolfenstein mixed acetone and hydrogen peroxide and then allowed the mixture to sit at room temperature for a week, during which time a small number of crystals precipitated, with a melting point of 97 °C (207 °F).
In 1899, Adolf von Baeyer and Victor Villiger described the first synthesis of dimers and described the synthesis of two peroxides using acids. Baeyer and Villiger prepared dimers by mixing potassium persulfate in diethyl ether with acetone under cooling. After separation of the ether layer, the product was purified and found to have a melting temperature of 132–133 °C (270–271 °F). They found that trimers could be prepared by adding hydrochloric acid to a frozen mixture of acetone and hydrogen peroxide. By using freezing point depression to determine the molecular weight of compounds, they also determined that acetone peroxide prepared through potassium persulfate is a dimer, while acetone peroxide prepared through hydrochloric acid is a trimer, just like the Wolfenstein compound.
This method and the various products obtained were further studied in the mid-20th century by Milas and Golubović.
Industrial applications
Ketone peroxides, including acetone peroxide and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, are used as initiators in polymerization reactions in the manufacture of fiberglass-reinforced composite materials, such as silicones or polyester resins. For these uses, peroxides are usually in the form of dilute solutions in organic solvents; methyl ethyl ketone peroxide is more commonly used for this purpose because it is stable in storage.
Acetone peroxide is used as a flour bleach to bleach and "ripen" flour.
Acetone peroxide is an undesired by-product of some oxidation reactions, such as those used in the synthesis of phenol. Due to their explosive nature, their presence in chemical processes and chemical samples creates potentially hazardous situations. Accidents can occur in illegal MDMA laboratories. Many methods are used to reduce their occurrence, including adjusting the pH to a more alkaline state, adjusting the reaction temperature, or adding inhibitors to their production. For example, triacetone peroxide is the primary contaminant found in diisopropyl ether and is the result of photochemical oxidation in the air.
for improvised explosive devices
TATP has been used in bomb and suicide attacks as well as improvised explosive devices, including
- London bombings on July 7, 2005
- One of the explosives used in Richard Reid's failed shoe bomb attack in 2001
- Suicide bomber attacks in Paris in November 2015
- Used in the Brussels attacks in 2016
- June 2017 Brussels attacks
- 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.
- Two kilograms of TATP were discovered in Hong Kong in 2019, amid massive protests against proposed laws allowing extradition to mainland China.
The TATP shock wave overpressure is 70% of the TNT equivalent, and the normal phase pulse is 55% of the TNT equivalent. The brightness of TATP at 0.4 g/cm3 is about one-third that of TNT (1.2 g/cm3) as measured by the Hess test.
TATP is attractive to terrorists because it is easily prepared from readily available retail ingredients such as bleach and nail polish remover. It is also able to evade detection because it is one of the few high explosives that does not contain nitrogen and can therefore pass undetected by standard explosives detection scanners, which have so far been designed to detect nitrogen-containing explosive. By 2016, explosives detectors had been improved to be able to detect TATP, and new types were developed.
The European Union has enacted legislative measures to limit the sale of hydrogen peroxide to concentrations of 12% or higher.
A major disadvantage of TATP is that it is very prone to accidental explosions, resulting in injuries and deaths of illegal bomb makers, which has led to TATP being called the "Mother of Satan". TATP was discovered in an accidental explosion before the 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and surrounding areas.
High amounts of TATP synthesis are often exposed by excess bleach or fruity smells. The smell can even penetrate clothes and hair quite significantly, as was reported in the 2016 Brussels bombings.
