Problems Potassium chlorate

SAMPLE PROBLEM 20.4 Calculating AG xn from Enthalpy and Entropy Values Problem Potassium chlorate, a common oxidizing agent in fireworks and matchheads, undergoes a solid-state disproportionation reaction when heated ... 

One problem which has frequently been encountered especially in the case of orange smokes, is the tendency to inflame. This problem is overcome by the addition of cooling agents and proper design of smoke emission nozzles. A typical heating mixture which is considered most efficient is potassium chlorate/ lactose, 5096/5096 and combustion takes place according to Equation 5.18. Accordingly, a typical formulation is as follows ... 

White smoke is produced by burning a mixture of potassium chlorate 3 parts, lactose 1, and finely powdered ammonium chloride 1. The smoke, which consists of finely divided ammonium chloride, is not poisonous, and has found some use in connection with the study of problems in ventilation. 

PROBLEM 3.1 Potassium chlorate, KC103/ decomposes when heated to yield potassium chloride and oxygen, a reaction used to provide oxygen for the emergency breathing masks in airliners. Balance the equation. 

The problems associated with the use of mercury fulminate and potassium chlorate led to a search for suitable alternatives, and the chemical reactions occurring within the cartridge case and the firearm were intensively studied. The objective of the study was to produce a satisfactory priming composition which was both noncorrosive and nonmercuric (NCNM). 

The smoke composition which contains auramine and potassium chlorate is said to cause spontaneous ignition(Yamanaka and Mitsuo, Showa Kaseihin Co.), but when the composition is in a well dried state there should not be such a problem. The reason is not clear, but it may come from the ammonium chloride which is used for manufacturing auramine and which remains in it as an impurity. As described before, the mixture of an ammonium salt and potassium chlorate creates ammonium chlorate which easily decomposes. ... 

I am enclosing two SOPs for your work on the Matchbooks Extraordinaire problem, one for the use of a Bunsen burner and one for the experimental determination of the percentage of oxygen. This latter procedure is written assuming that you are working with pure potassium chlorate. Of course, the material referred to as Matchmaker Plus is not pure potassium chlorate, but rather a mixture that should be at least 50% potassium chlorate. 

Potassium perchlorate, KCIO4, is a better oxidizing agent than the potassium chlorate, KCIO3, described in the previous problem. Potassium perchlorate, which is used in explosives, fireworks, flares, and solid rocket propellants, is made by carefully heating potassium chlorate to between 400 °C and 500 °C. The unbalanced equation for this reaction is... 

While it was possible to make a match that ignited by friction on any solid surface without use of white phosphorus, none could equal the ease of handling of the phosphorus match. A combination of potassium pi urn bate and red phosphorus with binder and filler called Schwie-niger Masse mixtures of a sulfophosphite with potassium chlorate scarlet phosphorus—nonpoisonous but more reactive than regular red phosphorus—and other materials appeared between 1890 and 1905 to replace white phosphorus in friction matches or strike-anywhere (SAW) matches as they are called today. The problem was finally... 

The ideal gas equation (and even the combined gas equation) allows chemists to work stoichiometry problems involving gases. (Chapter 10 is your key to the world of stoichiometry.) In this section, you re going to use the ideal gas equation to do such a problem, using a classic chemistry experiment — the decomposition of potassium chlorate to potassium chloride and oxygen by heating ... 

When working stoichiometry problems like the one in the preceding section involving the decomposition of potassium chlorate, the oxygen is normally collected over water by displacement and the volume is then measured. However, in order to get the pressure of just the oxygen, you have to subtract the pressure due to the water vapor. You have to mathematically dry out the gas. 

Ammonium perchlorate is more hygroscopic than potassium nitrate or potassium chlorate, and some precautions should be taken to keep mixtures dry. The hygro-scopicity problem can be substantial if a given composition also contains potassium nitrate, or even comes in contact with a potassium nitrate-containing mixture. Here, the exchange reaction... 

Sample Problem F Find the formula mass of potassium chlorate, KCIO,. 

Sample Problem B Oxygen gas from the decomposition of potassium chlorate, KCIO3, was collected hy water displacement. The harometric pressure and the temperature during the experiment were 731.0 torr and 20.0°C, respectively. What was the partial pressure of the ox en collected ... 

At the time of black powder, weapons had to be carefully cleaned after use. The combustion products of priming mixtures therefore did not present such a cmcial problem since they were in any case removed together with the black powder residues during cleaning. The problem of corrosive products became apparent when black powder was replaced by smokeless powder which meant much less careful cleaning of weapons. Potassium chlorates as a part of the priming compositimi have therefore been abandoned and replaced by other oxidizers. Some of the compositions from that time can be seen in Table 1.2 [3]. 

Mix-ups on processing lines may occasionally create a real problem and the formulator might be advised to tint mixtures in a series of increments that look alike but are functionally different. Red iron oxide pigment should be considered for this purpose. And, speaking of identification, the most disastrous mix-up is the one of potassium perchlorate and chlorate in the pyrotechnic laboratory, which at one time caused a serious accident to an associate in the writer s laboratory. By the same token, the acidic and relatively unstable form sulfur, the flowers of sulfur, should be banned from the shelf entirely. Its only place in pyrotechnics would be in items of the field-expedient type. 

---