Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Food grade compositions

Scalebar - 17-5-2016 at 06:30

I'm not talking about eating fireworks but..

I'm doing my indoor pyrotechnics training in about six weeks, I've often wondered looking at indoor displays and at consumer fireworks such as food sparklers ( which are basically gerbs ) what they're composed of.

I'm guessing it's a question of choosing nitrates over chlorates and keeping the sulphur content low and probably not using barium or other such things.

Does anyone know what goes into them?

PHILOU Zrealone - 17-5-2016 at 07:14

In common sparklers (the silvery hard mix on copper-steel wire) there is Ba(NO3)2 reason why you have a skull head symbol on the boxes....those are normaly not for food and birthday cakes, but people don't really care...

How to extract Ba(NO3)2 from sparklers by Antiswat on Youtube

[Edited on 17-5-2016 by PHILOU Zrealone]

Dornier 335A - 18-5-2016 at 02:43

I'm quite sure you mean what's called "ice flares" around my place: small fountains that burn with a bright white flame and sparks. They are simple paper tubes filled with a mixture of high quality nitrocellulose and titanium powder. The nitrocellulose burns cleanly without smoke and the titanium is not really toxic.

Scalebar - 18-5-2016 at 09:42

That's the ones - I use a lot of nitrocellulose myself as it's a nice 'safe' indoor pyrotechnic but I hadn't thought about its use in commercial firework preps. I might investigate further....

careysub - 18-5-2016 at 10:46

Quote: Originally posted by Scalebar  
That's the ones - I use a lot of nitrocellulose myself as it's a nice 'safe' indoor pyrotechnic but I hadn't thought about its use in commercial firework preps. I might investigate further....


The Disney Corporation uses nitrocellulose-based fireworks for their (thrice nightly) shows to drastically reduce air pollution from them.

Homeowners around Disneyland (who bought their homes there decades after the park opened and started the shows) have on occasion filed complaints and/or lawsuits against Disney for air pollution, but the Air Quality Management District has run tests and found that Disney's new fireworks don't pollute the air.

The cleaner burning compositions give better colors too with lower amounts of metals.

[Edited on 18-5-2016 by careysub]

Fantasma4500 - 22-7-2016 at 00:18

heads up.. police may suggest mono and di nitrocellulose (yes, ping pong ball grade NC) as high-explosive, their experts, that is. the quality you can barely even sustain combustion when lit on fire

if you could make a sparkler with lots of fluoride in it, some would probably consider it food grade -lol

NO3- SAVAGERY - 4-8-2016 at 18:29

Potassium chlorate and sodium benzoate technically is.

PHILOU Zrealone - 5-8-2016 at 13:30

Quote: Originally posted by NO3- SAVAGERY  
Potassium chlorate and sodium benzoate technically is.

Is this a question or a fact?

KClO3 is considered toxic for food!

KClO3 and Na benzoate is a whistle mix...way too energetic to put indoors and in close vicinity to guests placed arround a birthday cake...

unionised - 6-8-2016 at 09:21

Some old fashioned cough sweets used to contain KClO3.

PHILOU Zrealone - 6-8-2016 at 10:32

Quote: Originally posted by unionised  
Some old fashioned cough sweets used to contain KClO3.

The guy stopped coughing but died from unknown causes :P;):)...yeah old medecine and remedies... do you really want to try the exotic chemical cures of the begin of the 19th century (like Polonium and the like)?

There are people adept of eating some NaClO2 as drain cleaner for blood circulation...

[Edited on 6-8-2016 by PHILOU Zrealone]

unionised - 6-8-2016 at 11:31

It didn't work- but that's not the point.
It was food grade KClO3

PHILOU Zrealone - 6-8-2016 at 13:17

Quote: Originally posted by unionised  
It didn't work- but that's not the point.
It was food grade KClO3

OK understood ;).

Anyway better do a suicide with food grade cyanide than with normal cyanide...Cy(a)ni(di)cal humor :D:)

Herr Haber - 7-8-2016 at 05:41

Quote: Originally posted by unionised  
Some old fashioned cough sweets used to contain KClO3.


Mid nineties I got my first potassium chlorate from pills in a pharmacy in Spain. 99% pure.

PHILOU Zrealone - 7-8-2016 at 10:06

Apparently KClO3 is not as toxic as expected...:o
Belgian Anti-poison Center
It seems non toxic to rabbits...lethal dosis depends on the animal...
Horse 500 mg/kg
Cow 1000 mg/kg
Dog 1200 mg/kg (or cumulative 300 mg/kg during 5 days)
Sheep 2000 mg/kg
Birds 5000 mg/kg

Sadly they don't have the data for humans.
Symptoms of intoxication are far from nice.

chemrox - 6-9-2016 at 16:33

Quote: Originally posted by NO3- SAVAGERY  
Potassium chlorate and sodium benzoate technically is.

Hahahaha.. anyway "food grade" is usually tech grade without heavy metals. Reagent is usually better. My doctor told me choral hydrate would be the best sleep aid but he couldn't prescribe it because of unavailability. I told him I had a boatload on my shelf and he replied, "weigh carefully.." I'm considering it but afraid my wife will kick me out if I stay awake (sort of..)

"alive and imprisoned in the geocleptocracy.."