Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Nice red color with CaCl2

metalresearcher - 7-7-2015 at 11:48

When I mix KClO3+sugar with a bit CaCl2 (less than 1/4 of total mixture weight ) it burns with a nice red color, probably a mixture of the orange Ca and purplish K color.

Did anybody try this ?

KNO3 + sugar works the same but slower.

KNO3 + Al powder with CaCl2 is still white due to the very bright burning Al powder.

diggafromdover - 7-7-2015 at 11:59

Where did you get your CaCl2? If you are using ice-melt, you may have contaminants. I have noticed a bucket left exposed to the atmosphere solidified to an orange toned lump. The chemical is obtained as a by-product of the Solvay Process and there is no incentive to do further purification if all you are going to do with it is spread it on the sidewalk.

woelen - 7-7-2015 at 12:00

Sounds interesting, but how well does this mix behave if comewhat older, or in humid air? CaCl2 is very hygroscopic and I can imagine that this works bad when the air is humid. It might be interesting to try this mix with very finely powdered calcium carbonate instead of CaCl2.

metalresearcher - 7-7-2015 at 12:41

Well, I used drying agent. It was kept in a well sealed container and I mixed it shortly before ignition to avoid moisture as much as possible.

aga - 7-7-2015 at 15:00

Please explain in more detail what you did, and with what materiels.

PHILOU Zrealone - 10-7-2015 at 07:29

Do it with Ca(ClO3)2 instead of KClO3, it will also be orange-pink.
I noticed the flame colouration of calcium decades ago when using CaCO3 (1-5%) as stabilizer for my KClO3/S/C and brisant powder.
You may use CuCO3 for green-blue, SrCO3 (or Li2CO3) for red and BaCO3 for green.