8 replies to this topic

[digger]

Now then chaps has anyone had any experience using Ammonium Persulphate? Does anyone know anything about possible incompatibilities? Is there any information out there on long term stability of compositions?

Yes there are problems with this oxidiser such as it becomes acidic in the presence of water.

But it does start to decompose at 120C which makes it very interesting from the point of view of Blue compositions which need nice cool reactions. Should be relatively low smoke to boot with careful composition design.

I have done a little 5gram mix with copper oxide, Parlon and MgAl and it definitely burned a nice blue. I did not calculate anything just threw together a rough comp in the proportions I guessed would be about right.

Maybe an NC or Acetone Parlon bound star may have some potential if it is stable.

Any input would be appreciated.

[CCH Concepts]

way out of my experience. but i do have a question, how would you synthesis ammonium persulphate. I'm assuming its more complicated than simply reacting ammonium and sulphuric acid.

[digger]

way out of my experience. but i do have a question, how would you synthesis ammonium persulphate. I'm assuming its more complicated than simply reacting ammonium and sulphuric acid.

No need to synthesize it, as it is easily available in a pure format. If you must make it then electrolysis of ammonium sulphate acidified with sulphuric acid would be the route (easier said than done).

[CCH Concepts]

in comparison to other oxidizers how powerful is it, is it comparable to KClO4 for instance?

[MDH]

Persulfates decompose by themselves in a stable atmosphere. They are too unstable for pyrotechnics because of inherent moisture in the air.

If you have lactose or dextrose, and a non-fuel chlorinating agent such as HCB or HCE then you could potentially develop something quite amazing. Magnalium will oversaturate the white light a lot.

By the way - remember that copper borate (Cu3B2O6) I was raving on about some time back? The temperature of decomposition is only fifty degrees. If we're aiming for the ultimate "low melting point" composition, it is a candidate.

Edited by MDH, 23 November 2009 - 04:40 AM.

[digger]

Persulfates decompose by themselves in a stable atmosphere. They are too unstable for pyrotechnics because of inherent moisture in the air.

That was one of my concerns, hence the water impervious binder. Must be Worth a go. I will make a few grams of stars and keep them for a while to see how they degrade.

By the way - remember that copper borate (Cu3B2O6) I was raving on about some time back? The temperature of decomposition is only fifty degrees. If we're aiming for the ultimate "low melting point" composition, it is a candidate.

I was going to give it a go with copper benzoate, but I may just give it a go with the copper borate too. Yep I do have a little HCE to play with (HCB is a little bit to banned to get hold of easily these days) so I may give that a go.

[MDH]

I should clarify that Cu3B2O6 is produced through the reaction of copper carbonate and boric acid rather than borax and copper sulfate (Which would produce Cu2B4O7).

Edited by MDH, 27 November 2009 - 12:53 PM.

[digger]

OK

Anyway I have had little further experiment. I tried non metallic compositions and I could not get them to light. There seems to be a threshold amount of metal powder required to get it to go (20%). I have no Idea why this is, but I will try a few more experiments when I get a chance,

[pyrotechnist]

Did you get any reasonable results from this digger? would like to try the stuff myself.