Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Sulfur in chlorate mixes

jhonn - 24-11-2012 at 06:04

Sulfur is unsafe to use in chlorate mixes because it contains small amounts of acids (mainly sulfuric acid), the acid reacts with the chlorate salt, resulting in chloric acid, which is unstable and could decompose, generate heat, and ignite the mix.But what if we add a small amount of a non hygroscopic base, basic oxide or basic salt to avoid the formation of acids in the sulfur and in the mix ?

Pyro - 24-11-2012 at 06:23

you could purify it by recrystallization, or buy sulfur especially for pyrotechnics.

jhonn - 24-11-2012 at 06:38

Quote: Originally posted by Pyro  
you could purify it by recrystallization, or buy sulfur especially for pyrotechnics.


I think not. In the presence of chlorate and even traces of water, a very small amout of sulfur may be oxidised to sulfuric acid.I think there must be at least 1% of a base in the mix to avoid formation of acids. However, i never tried this, i'm just guessing.

Pyro - 24-11-2012 at 06:42

Ive mixed S and KClO3 before, don't worry too much.
you can recrystallize it from toluene and make it very pure. don't worry about it too much

franklyn - 24-11-2012 at 06:47

You must like living dangerously. Even vacuum sealed to prevent
humidity from being absorbed , dry powder is highly susceptible to
static electric initiation. Chlorate + vaseline is much better overall.

Energetic related threads belong you know where , not in
- General Chemistry

.

isobutane - 3-12-2012 at 05:38

I defiantly think this one should go to the energetic materials section. To answer your question in both chlorate and perchlorate mixes often times a small amount of carbonate is added to increase stability. The reaction between chlorate and sulfur-> chloric acid does not stop often times it slows down, but the carbonate can stabilize the mix even containing chloric acid. The best way to make these sulfur chlorate mixes safely is to buy top quality sulfur. So even with high grade sulfur and carbonate it is still a very dangerous death mix. You can take steps to make these death mixes safer but you can never tame them.

hyfalcon - 3-12-2012 at 05:41

Chlorate and sulfur creates a shock sensitive mix. I wouldn't want to be around anyone at a pyro convention where anyone was using this mix, and the longer it had been mixed the worse it is.