oldguy Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 Tartaric acid seems to be a good oxygen producer, readily available & relativly inexpensive.I don't see much about it being put to use in pyro comps.Any reason why?
NightHawkInLight Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) Typically pyrotechnic compositions are made to be fairly neutral on the pH scale. Many of the usual pyro chemicals (metals in particular) react with bases and acids. I'm not sure if tartaric acid would be an exception, but I doubt it. Edited February 2, 2011 by NightHawkInLight
Mumbles Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 While tartaric acid appears to have a lot of oxygen, it's still a fuel, albeit a rather neutral one. You'd have to use in in conjunction with something like magnesium for it to act as an oxidizer. It is appreciably soluble, so it will likely be acidic enough to potentially cause problems with metals. I would recommend potassium hydrogen tartrate as an alternative fuel, but even that is fairly acidic in water. All of these problems are negated using a non-solvent for tartaric acid. Acidity is a weird thing where solvents other than water can actually increase problems.
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