Sciencemadness Discussion Board

The chlorate candle

Pyro_cat - 29-4-2021 at 07:26

I was watching on the news the oxygen shortage in India right now.

"A chlorate candle, or an oxygen candle, is a cylindrical chemical oxygen generator that contains a mix of sodium chlorate and iron powder, which when ignited smolders at about 600 °C (1,112 °F), producing sodium chloride, iron oxide, and at a fixed rate of about 6.5 man-hours of oxygen per kilogram of the mixture...Potassium and lithium chlorate, and sodium, potassium and lithium perchlorates can also be used in oxygen candles."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_oxygen_generator

Like on Apollo 13 improvise quick.

I would think there must be thousands of tons of Chlorate in India they could divert.

symboom - 29-4-2021 at 08:44


Chlorate can be made from electrolysis of salt water.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Sodium_chlora...


Building a oxygen candle does not seem to involved
Have a scrubber they also use oxygen candles on submarines.
That's how they stay under water for months.

unionised - 29-4-2021 at 09:39

India does not have a shortage of oxygen. Just like here, about a fifth of the atmosphere there is oxygen.

However, they do have a shortage of bottled oxygen of the sort that you can connect to oxygen masks.

It might be useful if we could send them compressors and air distillation plant.

You could make chlorate by the electrolysis of salt water.
Or you could electrolyse washing soda solution, and get oxygen directly.

Morgan - 29-4-2021 at 12:59

Tidbit - Candles a little after the 10 minute mark.
How Do Nuclear Submarines Make Oxygen?-
https://youtu.be/g3Ud6mHdhlQ

Pyro_cat - 1-5-2021 at 17:35

That was a good video. I never knew they make oxygen on nuclear subs with a chlorate reaction in a device that looks like a backyard BBQ fish smoker !