Ingredients of Gun Propellants

Gun propellants are manufactured by three different methods (i) solvent method (ii) semi-solvent method and (iii) solventless method. The solvent method is that most commonly used for the manufacture of gun propellants. Selection of the method for manufacture basically depends on the properties of the raw materials and the propellant formulation. While there are limitations for the manufacture of gun propellants by solventless and semi-solvent methods, the solvent method may be applied for almost every gun propellant formulation. The solid-liquid ratio of the ingredients and the type of nitrocellulose used usually decide the feasibility of manufacture by the solventless method. Some characteristics of solid gun propellants are given in Table 4.1. 

In addition, there are some other types of solid gun propellants which may be categorized as  

---