Nitroglycerin is just one of the countless products that can be made with peanut oil. Oil can be extracted from peanuts through high heat or pressure. Thus, since peanut oil can withstand extremely high temperatures and remain stable, it is not only ideal for deep frying, but also for dynamite.
Peanut oil is a prime ingredient in glycerol, a thick liquid that is used in many products as a lubricant. Nitroglycerin is produced when glycerol is nitrated, or combined with compounds with explosive properties. Nitroglycerin is then combined with additional ingredients to make it more physically stable and safer to transport, and the end result is dynamite.
More about peanut oil:
- Peanut oil started to become popular in the United States during the Civil War, when there was a shortage of the more commonly used whale oil, made from whale blubber.
- Due to the refining process that peanut oil goes through, it is generally considered safe for those with peanut allergies to ingest because the allergen-containing proteins are removed.
- Peanut oil can be used to make biodiesel fuel by combining the filtered oil with methanol and sodium hydroxide to create methyl ester, which can be used in place of petroleum diesel.