Potassium nitrate black powder

Black Powder. Black powder is mainly used as an igniter for nitrocellulose gun propellant, and to some extent in safety blasting fuse, delay fuses, and in firecrackers. Potassium nitrate black powder (74 wt %, 15.6 wt % carbon, 10.4 wt % sulfur) is used for military appHcations. The slower-burning, less cosdy, and more hygroscopic sodium nitrate black powder (71.0 wt %, 16.5 wt % carbon, 12.5 wt % sulfur) is used industrially. The reaction products of black powder are complex (Table 12) and change with the conditions of initia tion, confinement, and density. The reported thermochemical and performance characteristics vary greatly and depend on the source of material, its physical form, and the method of determination. Typical values are Hsted in Table 13. 

It is a remarkable fact, and one which indicates that the improvements in black powder have been largely in the methods of manufacture, that the last three of these formulas. correspond very closely to the composition of all potassium nitrate black powder for military and sporting purposes which is used today. Any considerable deviation from the 6 1 1 or 6 1.2 0.8 formulas... 

In addition to potassium nitrate, black powder contains 15% charcoal, which is made up mostly of the element carbon. The remaining 10% of black powder consists of the element sulfur. The charcoal and the sulfur serve as fuel for the explosive reaction. 

Black powder is mainly used as an igniter for nitrocellulose gun propellants and to some extent in safety blasting fiises, delay fuses, and firecrackers. Potassium nitrate black powder (74 wt percent plus 15.6 wt percent carbon, 10.4 wt percent sulfur) is used for military applications. The slower-burning, less costly, and more hygroscopic sodium nitrate... 

A white smoke munition can be made from sulfur, potassium nitrate, black powder, aluminum powder, iron oxide and carbon tetrachloride. It can be used either for signaling or screening. 

Composed of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur. Had been for 550 years the only military explosive available as a propellant now replaced by smokeless powder. For properties and present military and industrial uses, see Black Powder (With Potassium Nitrate), Blasting Powder A. 

The above table shows that the starch alone does not change in viscosity. Sodium carbonate and potassium chlorate increase the viscosity. Realgar and aluminium have almost no influence upon the viscosity. Other substances generally decrease the viscosity. Sodium oxalate, barium nitrate, black powder, sulphur and charcoal particularly cause the starch to lose its viscosity. Aramoniiim perchlorate also has a large influence. 

Another example is black gun powder, which is a mixture of potassium nitrate, coal powder, and sulphur at a mass ratio of 75 15 10. The oxygen required for the combustion of this mixture is supplied by the potassium nitrate ... 

Typically, dry potassium nitrate is pulverized in a ball mill. Sulfur is milled into cellular charcoal to form a uniform mix in a separate ball mill. The nitrate and the sulfur—charcoal mix are screened and then loosely mixed by hand or in a tumbling machine. Magnetic separators may be used to ensure the absence of ferrous metals. The preliminary mix is transferred to an edge-mimer wheel mill with large, heavy cast iron wheels. A clearance between the pan and the wheels is required for safety purposes. The size of this gap also contributes to the density of the black powder granules obtained. Water is added to minimize dusting and improve incorporation of the nitrate into the charcoal. The milling operation requires ca 3 to 6 h. 

Potassium nitrate, essential in the manufacture of black gun powder, was produced by the Chinese, who had developed gun powder by the tenth century AD. The process involved the leaching of soil in which nitrogen from urine had combined with mineral potassium. By the early 1800s, potassium nitrate had become a strategic military chemical and was stiU produced, primarily in India, by using the ancient Chinese method. The caUche deposits in Chile are the only natural source of potassium nitrate (2). These deposits are not a rich source of potassium nitrate, purifying only to about 14% as K O. 

Black powder, a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and carbon, may have been invented in 10th centuiy China for fireworks. There is written record they used it in bamboo tubes to propel stone projm - es. There is evidence that Arabs invented it around 1300 A. D. using a gun rf... 

Potassium nitrate is best known as the oxidizing agent in old-fashioned black powder gunpowder, which is 75 percent potassium nitrate by weight. The other ingredients are 15 percent charcoal and 10 percent sulfur. 

Though the oxidation potentials of potassium nitrate (KN KNO3) and sodium nitrate (SN NaN03) are high, both metal nitrates generate combustion products of high Mg, Thus, the specific impulse becomes low when KN or SN is used in a rocket propellant KN and SN are used as major ingredients of explosives and in pyrotechnics. KN is a weU-known material as a major component of black powder. 

Black powder is the oldest explosive in history, dating back to the eighth century. Its chemical composition is well-known as a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal. The mixture ratio is varied according to the purpose for which it is to be used, with the ranges kno3(0-58-0.79), (0.08-0.20), and ( (0.10-0.20). Black powder composed of particles less than 0.1 mm in diameter is used for shell burst of fireworks and fuses. The grade with diameter 0.4—1.2 mm is used for the launch of spherical shells of fireworks, while that with diameter 3-7 mm is used in stone mines. Since black powder is sensitive to sparks caused by mechanical impact, friction, and static electricity, black powder containers should be made of brass or aluminum alloys rather than iron or steel. When Cl and Ca or Mg are present as impurities, CaClj or MgClj is formed and the thermal performance of KN is reduced. Contamination with NaCl also needs to be avoided for the same reason. 

BLACK POWDER (synonymous with Gunpowder) An intimately milled mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal that has propellant or explosive properties. 

Palladium oxide is prepared by heating palladium sponge in oxygen at 350°C. The oxide is obtained as a black powder. The oxide also may be prepared specially for catalytic use by heating a mixture of palladium chloride and potassium nitrate at 600°C and then leaching out water-soluble residue. A hydrated form of the oxide, which is acid soluble can be prepared by precipitation from solution, for example, by hydrolysis of palladium nitrate. The brown hydrated oxide converts to black anhydrous oxide on heating. Its solu-bdity in acids decreases with lowering of water content. 

The noted English scientist Roger Bacon was quite familiar with potassium nitrate/charcoal/sulfur mixtures in the 13th century, and writings attributed to him give a formula for preparing "thunder and lightning" composition [5]. The use of black powder as a propellant for cannons was widespread in Europe by the 14 th century. 

Shimizu notes that potassium nitrate is not slow when used in black powder and metal-containing compositions in which a "hot" fuel is present. Sodium nitrate is quite similar to potassium nitrate in reactivity. 

Potassium nitrate mixed with charcoal can be used for ignition, as can black powder worked into a paste with water and a little dextrine. Shidlovskiy reports that the composition... 

Thermograms] of black powder, 43 of potassium chlorate /sulfur system, 106-107 of potassium nitrate/sulfur system, 103-105 of smokeless powder, 42 of trinitrotoluene, 41 Titanium, 69, 101, 144 Trinitrotoluene (TNT), 12, 41 Tungsten, 130... 

At some early time, prior to 1000 A.D., an observant scientist recognized the unique properties of a blend of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal and black powder was developed as the first "modern" high-energy composition. A formula quite similar to the one used today was reported by Marcus Graecus ("Mark the Greek") in an 8th century work "Book of Fires for Burning the Enemy"... 

Black smoke Aluminum powder. Smokeless powder. Naphthalene Black powder. Potassium nitrate. Coal tar. Charcoal powder. Black smoke produced, Screening/signaling smoke ... 

Black powder A low explosive traditionally consisting of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal. Sodium nitrate maybe found in place of potassium nitrate. 

Black powder. Potassium nitrate. Red arsenic. Sulfur, Antimony Phosphorus trichloride. Methyl disulfide. Methyl iodide. Toluene, Sodium fluoride. Isopropyl alcohol... 

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