Semimicro spectrophotometric determination of nitroglycerine in propellants by use of 2,4-xylenol.

A semimicro spectrophotometric method using 2,4-xylenol is proposed for the determination of nitroglycerine in propellants. The propellant is extracted with methylene chloride, the extract is diluted, and a 10-ml aliquot is evaporated just to dryness. Then 2,4-xylenol reagent and 63% v/v sulphuric acid are added to hydrolyse the nitroglycerine to nitrate and form 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol which is steam-distilled in a Parnas-Wagner Kjeldahl distillation apparatus into a water-ammonia-isopropyl alcohol mixture. The absorbance of the yellow solution of the anion of the 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol is measured. The calibration curve is prepared from potassium nitrate and an empirical factor (5.50) is used to convert from nitrogen content to nitroglycerine (the theoretical factor is 5.40). The 2,4-xylenol should be added before the sulphuric acid in order to prevent interference from diphenylamine and ethyl centralite. The method is designed for the usual nitrocellulose double-base propellants containing 8-50% of nitroglycerine.