Question

Cordite is smokeless powder explosive. It is manufactured from:
a) Acetaldehyde
b) Acetone
c) Paraldehyde
d) Mesitylene

Answer 1

Hint: The name cordite is mostly applied to the mixture of two explosives. In the early days of Royal Naval Cordite Factory, the mixing of those two explosives were done with the aid of a common solvent.

Complete step by step answer:
Cordite was the name that was given in Britain to the nitro-based explosives that were made into 'cords' or fibres and could be as fine as hair or as large as spaghetti or rods. They were used as small arms (pistols, rifles, and machine guns) and artillery propellant by the Royal Navy and the British Army.

The raw materials required for the manufacture of cordite are as follows:
1.) Nitrocellulose - It is a cotton waste converted to nitrate.
2.) Mixed Acids (M/A) - Concentrated Sulphuric Acid (57%) and Nitric Acid (43%) - It is used in nitroglycerine production to nitrate glycerine and to act as a dehydrating agent during the process.
3.) Oleum (Fuming Sulphuric Acid) - It is used in the reprocessing of refuse (spent) acids to concentrate the nitric acid and replace used sulphuric acid.
4.) Glycerine - It reacts with acids under strictly controlled conditions.
5.) Sodium Carbonate - Used to neutralise remaining acids in the separated nitroglycerine and makes it less likely to explode when moved to other processes.
6.) Acetone - A solvent additive that stabilised the nitroglycerine and later in the process helped to gelatinise the nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine to a paste for forming into 'cords'. Acetone is known to most women as a nail-varnish remover.
7.) Vaseline - added to the mix as a stabiliser and gun barrel lubricant.
8.) Graphite - 'Lampblack' to reduce the risk of static ignition in some forms of loose cordite.
9.) Nitroguanidine (Picrite) - It is added to artillery cordite to reduce barrel wear and to stabilise the cordite in storage.

Therefore, Acetone was used in the manufacture of cordite. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Note: Cordite is far more complex to manufacture than is gunpowder, for the simple reason that the raw materials can become unstable and explode if combined at the wrong temperatures, purity and acid levels.