In Depth
In 1857 Lammot du Pont developed a new method of black powder manufacture which substituted South American sodium nitrate for the more expensive, British-controlled potassium nitrate. This change not only freed American powder from dependence on Great Britain but also resulted in a more powerful blast than existing black powder. Lammot’s “B” blasting powder was the first notable change in black powder composition in over 600 years. During the Civil War, further black powder research yielded “Mammoth Powder” for heavy artillery use by Union forces.
In the late 19th century, new explosives began to challenge the dominance of black powder. Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite introduced a blasting explosive three times more powerful than black powder.
Recognizing the significance of this invention, DuPont entered dynamite production when Lammot organized the Repauno Chemical Company in 1880. The black powder market eroded further with the development of smokeless powder in the 1890s. Derived from guncotton, smokeless powder burned more cleanly than black powder and provided greater explosive force. The two world wars accelerated research and development of new explosives like TNT and blasting gelatins. Following World War II, black powder production declined rapidly until all commercial manufacture was discontinued in the mid 1970s.
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