Sulfur-saltpeter

Sulfur-Saltpeter [Soufre-salpetre (Fr) and Sal-pete r-Schwefelmengung (Ger)]. Mixts of 1 p S and 1 or 3p of K nitrate used in various pyrots in both Fr and Ger Ref Daniel (1902), 728... 

The earliest explosive, gunpowder, first appeared in ninth-century China. It was a combination of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. The Chinese used gunpowder for limited military purposes, but its primary purpose was to provide pyrotechnics and fireworks for ceremonial and religious rites. By the thirteenth century, gunpowder was being widely used in European firearms and cannons. Because it was relatively weak, gunpowder had few industrial or commercial... 

The first industrial catalyst was probably the niter pot, which was used in the early sulfuric acid lead chamber process when it became known that oxides of nitrogen catalyzed the oxidation of sulfur dioxide. How was this important process—on which chemical development soon depended—discovered Was it from the observation that cannons corroded or that condensation was acidic following the explosion of gunpowder All the ingredients for chamber acid were there—sulfur, saltpeter, atmospheric air, and heat. Ostwald noted that copious brown fumes were evolved as gunpowder exploded, but did not make any comment on sulfur oxides. Empirical observations, or inspired deductions, ditr-ing the 1800s led to the introduction of several more important catalytic processes. The inevitable development of a chemical industry based on the use of catalysts followed from a mass of experimental observations, such as those shown in Table 1.1, accumulated after Berzelius defined catalysts in 1835 (Figure 1.1). 

Nitric acid, or aqua fortis as it was called in medieval times, has been known and used by mankind for centuries. At first, it was produced by heating a mixture of sodium nitrate (Chile saltpeter) and sulfuric acid. The product obtained was sodium hydrogen sulfate, and the nitric acid vapors escaping during this process were condensed ... 

Nordhftuser Schwefelsaure, Nordhftuser Vitri-oloL Nordhausen acid (fuming sulfuric acid), nordisch, a. northern, northerly, Nordic, nordlich, a. northerly, northern, arctic. Nord-licht, n. aurora borealis, -meer, n. Arctic Ocean, -ost, m. northeast northeaster, -pol, m. north pole. -see,/. North Sea. Norgeraniumsaure,/. norgeranic acid. Norgesalpeter, m. Norway saltpeter (calcium nitrate). 

Nitric Add from Saltpeter. In the manuf of nitric acid from Chile saltpeter 85 parts of saltpeter and 98p of coned sulfuric acid (both calculated on 100% basis) were heated together in large iron retorts, often capable of holding 5 tons or more of ingredients. The following reaction took place ... 

A continuous process for the manuf of nitric acid from saltpeter and sulfuric acid was introduced in 1894 by Prentice (Ref 9, p 147)... 

Eng 20, 470-477 (1919) (Description of ammonia oxidation process beginning with Kuhl-mann s method of 1839 and ending with the cyanamide process at Muscle Shoals) 7) C.L. Parsons, 1EC 11,541 (1919) (Oxidation of ammonia to nitric acid as well as the prepn of nitric acid from Chile saltpeter) 8) F.C. Zeis-berg, ChemMetEng 24, 443-45 (1921) (Manuf of nitric acid from Chilean saltpeter brief description) 9) G.B. Taylor, IEC 26,1217-19 (1922) (Some economic aspects of ammonia oxidation) 10) Ministry of Munitions, Manufacture of Nitric Acid from Nitre and Sulfuric Acid , London (1922) (Book No 7 of Technical Records of Explosives Supply, 1915—1919)... 

For many years nitric acid was made by the reaction of sulfuric acid and saltpeter (sodium nitrate), but this method is no longer used. 

Charcoal is made from wood ashes, sulfur is mined, and potassium nitrate (called Chilean saltpeter) was mined from dry cliffs on the coast of Chile, where fish-eating seabirds had their nests and restroom facilities. Over many centuries, this source accumulated in layers mary feet thick, and this was adequate for all nitrate needs until the end of the nineteenth century when deposits began to deplete faster than birds could replenish them and transportation and purification (odor is just part of the problem) kept costs high-... 

By the 15th century, black powder had been extensively studied in many European countries, and a published formula dating to Bruxelles in 1550 gave a 75.0/15.52/9.38 ratio of saltpeter/ charcoal /sulfur that is virtually the same as the mixture used today [51 ... 

Much of the early use of chemical energy involved military applications. "Greek fire," first reported in the 7th century A.D., was probably a blend of sulfur, organic fuels, and saltpeter that generated flames and dense fumes when ignited. It was used in a variety of incendiary ways in both sea and land battles and added a new dimension to military science [2]. 

Because of its relation to saltpeter, P.-J. Macquer regarded nitric acid as a kind of sulfuric acid modified by its passage through animal and vegetable substances. In 1750, said he, the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin proposed an account of the generation of Nitre as the subject for their prize, which was conferred on a Memoir wherein this last opinion was supported by some new and very judicious experiments (8). Macquer stated that the Nitrous [nitric] Acid is never found but in earths and stones which have been impregnated with matters subject to putrefaction. (8). 

When Berzelius visited Paris in 1818, he inspected a lead-chamber plant in which sulfuric acid was made by burning sulfur with saltpeter, the daily output being 300 pounds. The acid was condensed first in a lead caldron and then in a platinum boiler. This plant had three pairs of lead chambers and two small platinum kettles, each of which had a capacity of from 2 to 21/a gallons. The cost of the two platinum kettles was 9000 francs (15). 

These compns were solid masses of sulfur, pitch, naphtha, and other combustibles, and when saltpeter was discovered it also was included. 

Accdg to Nambo (Ref 66, p 38), the compn of powder for thorny fire balls , as described by Tsung Yao of Sung, was saltpeter 50.0, sulfur 25.0, charcoal 6.25 other ingredients 18.75%, while the compn of powder for poisonous fire balls was saltpeter 38.5, sulfur 19.25, charcoal 6.4 other ingredients 35.85%... 

In the Liber Ignium of Marcus Graecus, which was probably translated into Latin from an Arabic source ca 1300, were several references to incendiaries used by Arabs. One of them ignis volatilis (flying fire) consisted of resin 1, sulfur 1 and saltpeter 2 parts, dissolved into a hollow reed or wood. This was in the opinion of Marshall 1 (Ref 11, p 17) an incendiary ( wild fire )... 

The compn listed on p 18 of Ref 11 consisted of sulfur 1, vine or willow charcoal 2 saltpeter 6 parts. The ingredients were rubbed down together on a marble slab and put into a case, which was short strong and filled only half-full... 

Accdg to Nambo (Ref 66, p 39), the compn of French powder of unknown use was saltpeter 50, sulfur 25 charcoal 25%... 

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