Process and apparatus for producing plastic-bound propellant powders and explosives

A process for producing plastic-bound propellant powders and explosives by an extruder comprising a casing with at least one draw or feed opening, optionally a solvent supply opening and at least one extruder shaft with kneading and conveying segments, the casing having at least one section transparent to UV/VIS or X-rays provided by a radiation source means, the process comprising the steps of supplying a plastic binder polymerizable under the UV/VIS or X-rays through the feed opening until segments of the at least one extruder shaft "float" without wall friction in the plastic binder, subsequently adding the components of the propellant powder or explosive material in crystalline form, initiating the polymerization within the extruder by the radiation source means arranged around the casing, controlling at least one of the radiation intensity and wavelength of the radiation source means as a function of a pressure difference present over a clearly defined path in a terminal compression zone of the extruder, in such a manner that the propellant or explosive strand or strands exit the extruder in a dimensionally stable and cuttable manner.