Pyrotechnics oxidizers

In addition to an oxidizer, pyrotechnic mixtures will also contain a good fuel - or electron donor - that reacts with the liberated oxygen to produce an oxidized product plus heat. This heat will enable the high-energy chemist to produce any of a variety of possible effects - color, motion, light, smoke, or noise. 

Strontium oxide pyrotechnics mfg., red color Strontium nitrate... 

Strontium is softer than calcium and decomposes in water more vigorously. It does not absorb nitrogen below 380oC. It should be kept under kerosene to prevent oxidation. Freshly cut strontium has a silvery appearance, but rapidly turns a yellowish color with the formation of the oxide. The finely divided metal ignites spontaneously in air. Volatile strontium salts impart a beautiful crimson color to flames, and these salts are used in pyrotechnics and in the production of flares. Natural strontium is a mixture of four stable isotopes. 

Lead dioxide is electrically conductive and is formed ia place as the active material of the positive plates of lead-acid storage batteries. Because it is a vigorous oxidizing agent when heated, it is used ia the manufacture of dyes, chemicals, matches (qv), pyrotechnics (qv), and Hquid polysulfide polymers (42) (see Polypous containing sulfur). 

Strontium Peroxide. Commercial strontium peroxide contains about 85% Sr02 and 10% active oxygen. It can be made by heating strontium oxide ia the preseace of oxygea gas uader 20 MPa (200 atm) pressure, or by reactiag a soluble stroatium salt with hydrogea peroxide. The only substantial appHcation for this compound is ia pyrotechnics (qv). Strontium peroxide [1314-18-7] produces a red color ia flames. 

A pyrotechnic composition contains one or more oxidizers in combination with one or more fuels. Oxidizers used in pyrotechnics, such as potassium nitrate, KNO, are soflds at room temperature and release oxygen when heated to elevated temperatures. The oxygen then combines with the fuel, and heat is generated by the resulting chemical reaction. Chemicals that release fluorine or chlorine on heating, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)... 

Pyrotechnic mixtures may also contain additional components that are added to modify the bum rate, enhance the pyrotechnic effect, or serve as a binder to maintain the homogeneity of the blended mixture and provide mechanical strength when the composition is pressed or consoHdated into a tube or other container. These additional components may also function as oxidizers or fuels in the composition, and it can be anticipated that the heat output, bum rate, and ignition sensitivity may all be affected by the addition of another component to a pyrotechnic composition. An example of an additional component is the use of a catalyst, such as iron oxide, to enhance the decomposition rate of ammonium perchlorate. Diatomaceous earth or coarse sawdust may be used to slow up the bum rate of a composition, or magnesium carbonate (an acid neutralizer) may be added to help stabilize mixtures that contain an acid-sensitive component such as potassium chlorate. Binders include such materials as dextrin (partially hydrolyzed starch), various gums, and assorted polymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol), epoxies, and polyesters. Polybutadiene mbber binders are widely used as fuels and binders in the soHd propellant industry. The production of colored flames is enhanced by the presence of chlorine atoms in the pyrotechnic flame, so chlorine donors such as poly(vinyl chloride) or chlorinated mbber are often added to color-producing compositions, where they also serve as fuels. 

The process of designing a pyrotechnic mixture begins with the selection of oxidizer and fuel, and proceeds to incorporate additional components to achieve the exact pyrotechnic effect and bum rate desired in the end item. It is at this point that pyrotechnics takes on the dual nature of an art and science, and experience is often the only thing that can be reHed upon for the solution of a difficult problem. 

Another matter of concern in pyrotechnic formulations is the possibiHty of exchange reactions occurring between components. Addition of ammonium salts to compositions containing nitrate oxidizers can produce ammonium nitrate, a very hygroscopic material. The composition then becomes quite prone to pick up water and its performance deteriorates. The addition of an ammonium salt to a chlorate-based formulation can lead to the... 

The air bag industry has become one of the principal users of pyrotechnic compositions in the world. Most of the current air bag systems are based on the thermal decomposition of sodium azide, NaN, to rapidly generate a large volume of nitrogen gas, N2. Air bag systems must function immediately (within 50 ms) upon impact, and must quickly deploy a pulse of reasonably cool, nontoxic, unreactive gas to inflate the protective cushion for the driver or passenger. These formulations incorporate an oxidizer such as iron oxide to convert the atomic sodium that initially forms into sodium oxide, Na20. Equation 1 represents the reaction. 

Smoke-Generating Devices. Smoke generators are used by the military for daytime obscuration and signaling. For field use where portable stable systems ate requited, pyrotechnic devices are often employed. The primary composition since the 1940s has been HC smoke, which generates a cloud of zinc chloride, ZnCl, smoke by a series of reactions between hexachloroethane, C2Clg(HC), zinc oxide, and aluminum (3) (eq. 4—6). The zinc regenerated in... 

Strontium peroxide, Sr02, is a white powder with a specific gravity of 4.56 that decomposes in water. It is made by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with strontium oxide and is used primarily in pyrotechnics and medicines. 

Barium nitrate is prepared by reaction of BaCO and nitric acid, filtration and evaporative crystallization, or by dissolving sodium nitrate in a saturated solution of barium chloride, with subsequent precipitation of barium nitrate. The precipitate is centrifuged, washed, and dried. Barium nitrate is used in pyrotechnic green flares, tracer buUets, primers, and in detonators. These make use of its property of easy decomposition as well as its characteristic green flame. A small amount is used as a source of barium oxide in enamels. 

Boron mixed with an oxidizer is used as a pyrotechnic. This ordnance appHcation for missiles and rockets is predominandy military. However, boron is also used in air bags, placed in automobiles as safety devices, for initiating the sodium azide [26628-22-8] which fiHs the bag with nitrogen (13). Other boron compounds are also used in the air-bag pyrotechnic appHcation. 

Lead and compounds Manganese and compounds SPA Lead oxide Tetraethyl lead (TEL) Batteries Explosives and pyrotechnics Paint Pesticides Petrochemicals Printing Refineries Vehicle exhausts Batteries Catalyst Glass Paint Pyrotechnics... 

KNO3, a powerful oxidizing agent now used mainly in gunpowders and pyrotechnics, and in fertilizers. 

About 80-90% of the elemental P produced is reoxidized to (pure) phosphoric acid (p. 521). The rest is used to make phosphorus oxides (p. 503). sulfides (p. 506), phosphorus chlorides and oxochloride (p. 4%). and organic P compounds. A small amount is convened to red phos rftorus (see below) for use in the striking surface of matches for pyrotechnics and as a flame retarding agent (in polyamides). Bulk price for P4 is S2.00/kg. 

Manganese Mn, at wt 54.94, brittle, silvery metal, mp 1245°, bp 2097°, d 7,44g/cc, Mohs hardness 5 decomps in w, readily dissolved in dil mineral acids. Usually associated with Fe ores in sub-marginal concns. Important ores of Mn are pyrolusite, manganite, psilomelane rhodochrosite. Prepd by reduction of the oxide with Al or C. Pure Mn is obtained electrolyti-cally from sulfate or chloride sain. It is used, in powd form, in the manuf of delay powds and in some pyrotechnic mixts. The requirements of the USA Armed Forces are covered by... 

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