pyroduck Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Hey yall, many of you may know the rather exploxive flash powder mixture consisting of Potassium Persulfate and magnesium or MgAl powder. However obtaining good quality persulfate can be rather hard in some places so i experimented around with the more available related compound Ammonium Persulfate. When mixing it in a 50/50 ratio with aluminum powder and trying to light it, the mixture just bubbled up and turned into slag. As i found out this is due to the hygroscopic properties of APS. however after thoroughly drying the persulfate before lighting the compound i managed to get some pretty white sparks. i would not recommend using this mixture in any fireworks, as it really sucks up water and renders itself useless after a while. I hope this post helps some people.
mx5kevin Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Professional persulfate flash powder does not exist in any form. Persulfates should not be purchased for this purpose. It can ignite spontaneously at any time due to moisture. There are many much stronger professional flash powders with magnesium. I have never heard of a single pyrotechnic composition in which any kind of persulfate is used. This is a completely homemade invention. It is far behind the strong and bright flash powders. I've tried all the popular oxidizers for flash powders, and persulfates are one of those oxidizers that are not worth it in terms of quality, performance and safety. 1
pyroduck Posted October 27 Author Posted October 27 Yeah it is definately not professional, and very dangerous to be used in anything remotely professional but nevertheless people in non professional contexts make it because the ingredients are easy to aquire. While especially K2S2O8 whith magnesium is known to be very explosive, i agree that it is not worth the trouble and safety hazards.
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