Looking for more info on BCDMH-esque chems

[AzoMittle]

I'm looking to test 3 different chemicals as both oxidizing agents and chlorine donors. I've found MSDS's for them however none are very detailed and in a few places they are actually contradictory. Beyond that there is next to no relevant information I've been able to dig up. I'm willing to do my own experiments with them however I am not a professional chemist and will most likely overlook either a technical or--more importantly--safety aspect.

 

The chemicals are:

 

1,3-Dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (http://www.chemicalb...N_CB3103672.htm)

 

1-Bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCDMH)

 

1,3-Dichloro-5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin (http://www.chemicalb...N_CB7845356.htm)

 

Thank you one and all, any and all information is gladly welcomed

 

edit: formatting

Edited April 21, 2013 by AzoMittle

[AzoMittle]

The breakdown of BCDMH into Hypobromous Acid and Hypochlorous Acid upon contact with water has me particularly worried.

 

From wikipedia:

The initial BCDMH reacts with water (R = Dimethylhydantoin): BrClR + 2 H₂O → HOBr + HOCl + RH₂

Hypobromous acid partially dissociates in water: HOBr → H⁺ + OBr^-

Hypobromous acid oxidizes the substrate, itself being reduced to bromide: HOBr + Live pathogens → Br^- + Dead pathogens

The bromide ions are oxidized with the hypochlorous acid that was formed from the initial BCDMH: Br^- + HOCl → HOBr + Cl^-

This produces more hypobromous acid. However, the hypochlorous acid itself does act directly as a disinfectant in the process.

[Arthur]

Potassium Chlorate is oxidiser and chlorine donor and probably a LOT cheaper. There are familiar recipes available for use or development. The oxidiser usually comes to about 70% of the compound so it needs to be cheap.

[AzoMittle]

Hahaha yes I'm well aware of (per)chlorates/nitrates but I'm trying to find other things, the whole point is to break away from the "familiar recipes" and discover something new and novel

[asilentbob]

Anything with bromine in it will likely be too expensive to be practical for pyrotechnic applications.

 

If your wanting to break away from the norm, something to try to explore is biodegradable chlorine donors...

 

Goal being compounds that can work excellent as chlorine donors in stars (ideally cheap too), but wont produce high levels of toxic chlorinated byproducts in the environment (especially ones that may be able to bio-accumulate (I imagine old nasties like hexachlorobenzene would))... I have considered it a bit, and franky I'm not sure where I'd start. High mass or mole percent of chlorine obviously, low amount of carbon is likely better than high, both for burning performance and bio-degradation. Perhaps chlorine bonded to nitrogen in the compound would be better than carbon, that could lead to chloramines and such, which on their own would likely break down into chlorine gas and ammonia/nitrogen/hydrogen... but in an organic rich pond, they may chlorinate other things.

 

I was thinking along the lines of hydrazine mono/di chloride, though I never bothered to really look into the feasibility... ie compatibility with existing pyro chems, moisture, price, toxicity on its own to humans and animals, toxicity to aquatic/marine systems, etc...

[Mumbles]

Unfortunately chlorination and biodegradability are generally inversely proportional. The higher the degree of chlorination, the less biodegradable it is. Most chlorinated hydrocarbons are going to be biodegradable to some degree. Even HCB can be broken down and used by some organisms for energy. This typically starts by something slowly dehalogenating it, until it or something else can efficiently make use of it. There are some organisms that are more efficient at using halogenated compounds, to the extent that I've seen cultures being offered by some company. That might just be a total scam, but it's out there.