Black Gunpowder is 15% sulfur, 20% carbon and 75% Potassium nitrate (KNO3). I need pure Potassium nitrate, I have firecrackers and I can get some black gunpowder from them, I think I have an idea, I will put gunpowder in water and Potassium nitrate will melt in water and sulfur and carbon won't, then Im going to remove carbon and sulfur and put water with melted potassium nitrate on oven (or however it is called ) water is going to evaporate and I will get some pure (well kind of pure) Potassium nitrate, am I right?, but I won't get much so does anyone know is there any other way to do it or place wher I can buy it?
support what your saying because i have heard otherwise, probably depends on what kind of pottassium.
anyways, i usually buy mine from home depot, lowes, or some other store, only buy "Grant's Stump remover" pther brands are not potassium "Nitrate" they are potassium "Sulfate" the last bunch i bought online, very good quality, just go to ebay or aafes. I make Black powder myself, and so far the quality has been good. i just need to buy a ball mill :P
In what way and in what form does potassium react with water?
Potassium reacts rapidly and intensely with water, forming a colourless basic potassium hydroxide solution and hydrogen gas, according to the following reaction mechanism:
2K (s) + 2H2O (l) -> 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)
This is an exothermal reaction and potassium is heated to such an extend that it burns a purple flame. Additionally, hydrogen released during the reaction strongly reacts with oxygen and ignites. Potassium reacts with water more slowly than does rubidium, which is placed under potassium in the periodic chart. It reacts with water more rapidly than does sodium, which is placed higher in the periodic chart.
This is an exothermal reaction and potassium is heated to such an extend that it burns a purple flame. Additionally, hydrogen released during the reaction strongly reacts with oxygen and ignites.
As you can read, it says it ignites (causes a flame), not explodes(blows up).
Potassium Nitrate is just a salt. It won't burn in water; it will just dissolve into its ions K+ and NO3-.
Dear god, thank you. You people have no idea what you're talking about, so stop pretending you do. Saying Potassium Nitrate will react violently with water due to the Potassium is like saying you can breathe water because there's Oxygen in it.
Saltpetre is nontoxic and it just tastes like salt. Saltpeter merely provides oxygen in the gunpowder combustion reaction, where charcoal provides the carbon and sulphur a catalyst of sorts. Although potassium is certainly capable of exploding in water, that's when it's by itself. Our bodies are full of water and potassium molecules, but we don't spontaneously combust on a regular basis. Bananas and orange juice don't burst into flames all of a sudden. The combustion of K in water is not the combustion that starts the gunpowder combustion.
I had a little s*** heap in my back yard that I got saltpetre from, but it took a while to start getting results, so I just started to use dried banana peels. It's also used as a preservative and you can get it in some instant cold packs, but using them like that is illegal. Why would you need it though?
Although potassium is certainly capable of exploding in water, that's when it's by itself.
I don't understand why people think it (potassium nitrate) will, I learned about reactivity and valence electrons in the first grading period of my 8th grade year (GT ftw).
