Sounds like worthwhile to test the theory... vs normal pulp paper (ie no print) and copy paper. How much of the energy is from the potassium chlorate? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_chlorate states the stuff is pretty volatile: "It reacts vigorously, and in some cases spontaneously ignites or explodes, when mixed with many combustible materials"

Short version - can blow off fingers. Do this at your own risk. Quelab is not responsible for damages.

Post : Rocket propellant manufactured from old newspaper
URL : http://hackaday.com/2012/09/04/rocket-propellant-manufactured-from-old-newspaper/
Posted : September 4, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Author : Mike Szczys
Tags : fuel, KClO3, newspaper, potassium chlorate, propellant, rocket
Categories : chemistry hacks

http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/newspaper-rocket-propellant.jpg

It turns out that old newsprint can be a bit explosive; at least when it's combined with the proper ingredients. [Markus Bindhammer] worked out a way to make solid rocket propellant from newspaper (http://markus-bindhammer.blogspot.com/2011/08/newspaper-rocket-fuel.html) . Judging from the test footage after the break the home made engines work great!

There isn't a long list of ingredients. In addition to newspaper you'll need some potassium chlorate (KClO3) which serves as an oxidizer, white wood glue, and PVC pipe. The KClO3 is ground with a mortar and pestle, then run through a sieve before being combined with the wood glue. This combination is painted on the newspaper which is then rolled up with a glass rod at the center. This is allowed to harden before going into the PVC. The excess is trimmed and the whole thing is baked in a convection oven at 105 C for two hours.

If this process doesn't suit you maybe cooking up a batch of sugar-based propellant (http://hackaday.com/2010/09/28/homemade-solid-propellant-rocket-motors/) is worth a try?

Read more of this post (http://hackaday.com/2012/09/04/rocket-propellant-manufactured-from-old-newspaper/#more-84248)

Add a comment to this post: http://hackaday.com/2012/09/04/rocket-propellant-manufactured-from-old-newspaper/#respond

--
WordPress.com | Thanks for flying with WordPress!