21 replies to this topic

[zanes]

it's buck-master's inorganic chemistry textbook.

It claims elder and dogwood are best for bp charcoals. It also mentions synthesis of nitric acid by dissolving kno3 in sulphuic acid, and doing something a bit like distilling. Will post in more detail (extract) when i have time (ps. it was printed in 1870 so it may be a BIT out of date )

[lord_dranack]

I have a wonderful old chem textbook called General School Chemistry, from the 50s. It is full of diagrams and methods for making various chemicals you rarely see now in school chemistry textbooks now

[BigG]

it's buck-master's inorganic chemistry textbook.

It claims elder and dogwood are best for bp charcoals. It also mentions synthesis of nitric acid by dissolving kno3 in sulphuic acid, and doing something a bit like distilling. Will post in more detail (extract) when i have time (ps. it was printed in 1870 so it may be a BIT out of date )

Elder is considered to be the best most consistent BP wood even today - but it is not as powful as soft wood BP's. Dogwood has been downgraded as there are a few hardwoods which are better.

There is a different thread that talks about BP's and wood. Please post any BP releated information there.

BigG

[Stuart]

Congratumalations on becoming a moderator BigG.

[sasman]

Lord Dranack Did you ever make any Strontium Nitrate?...I have just done a small scale test with Dil HNO3 + SrCo3...

Everything went smoothly lots of bubling at first.. then no more bubbling so i added just a bit more CO3 to make sure its neutral or slightly Alkaline..The solution stayed mainly clear until right near the end of the reaction and i noticed that i was getting a slight muddy yellow colour?..Precipitate?...I'm baffled as to what this is? ..

I used a stainless steel spoon to stir the Solution and was wondering if may be the acid as dissloved some iron out of the spoon ? .. and got Iron impuritity?.. any idea's to what it maybe..

Cheers

[lord_dranack]

I made a small amount of both barium and strontium nitrates from HNO3 and the carbonate. I added an excess of carbonate to the diluted acid (approx 4 mol/dm3)), warmed it gently, then left it for about a week. I filtered off the remaining carbonate and washed it several times to remove any crystalised nitrate. I didn't have a strange precipitate, but I did notice a smell of hydrogen sulfide when the acid was added. The glasswear was clean, and the acid was LR grade so whatever impiurity must have arisen from the carbonate used, which was for ceramic use. The nitrates prodused gave the correct colours in a flame test.

It was barium nitrate I was realy after as at the time I was working on chlorate stars. However the sulfide smell and the problem of removing all trace of acid made me decide it wasn't worth the risk of using the nitrates with a chlorate.

In the end I bought some barium nitrate from timstar, and that worked well in my green stars.

[sasman]

I did another batch of Acid & Carbonate this time i used a plastic stirrer and there was no Brownish yellow PPTE.. ..

Even after adding lots excess carbonate after the bubbling had stopped it still is slightly acid .?..I might try some sort of mechanical stirring or try bubbling some air through the solution to see if that helps...As for the Hydrogen sulphide smell.. The Alchemist mentions that if air is bubbled thru the solution Barium Sulphide convert's to the sulphate ..i wonder if that will work for strontium salt?..

Over the next few days ill dry out this Strontium Nitrate and if it works good in Ruby red formula .. I will scale up production..In the New year

Edit*** Well i have stopped this idea due to the fact i have just found a cheap supplier of Ba and Sr nitrates .Making chemicals is ok if you cant obtain them at realistic prices...But i have compared the prices with those of skylighter and they are more or less the same..

Edited by sasman, 19 February 2005 - 11:14 PM.