Meal powder
Encyclopedia
Meal powder is the fine dust left over when black powder (gunpowder
) is corned and screened to separate it into different grain sizes. It is used extensively in various pyrotechnic procedures, usually to prime other compositions. It can also be used in many fireworks to add power and substantially increasing the height of the firework.
'Mill meal' powder is a mixture of potassium nitrate
, charcoal
and sulfur
in the correct proportions (75:15:10) which has been ball-milled to mix it intimately. It is used in the same way as commercial meal powder or can be pressed and corned to produce true black powder.
To make meal powder or black powder, a chemist mixes the ingredients by mass, never by volume. These ingredients are processed in a ball mill
, basically a spinning drum with non-sparking ceramic or lead balls. The more time left in the mill, the more "explosive" the powder will be. One main reason to ball mill as opposed to other methods is because it presses sulfur and KNO3 into the porous charcoal.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
) is corned and screened to separate it into different grain sizes. It is used extensively in various pyrotechnic procedures, usually to prime other compositions. It can also be used in many fireworks to add power and substantially increasing the height of the firework.
'Mill meal' powder is a mixture of potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
and sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
in the correct proportions (75:15:10) which has been ball-milled to mix it intimately. It is used in the same way as commercial meal powder or can be pressed and corned to produce true black powder.
To make meal powder or black powder, a chemist mixes the ingredients by mass, never by volume. These ingredients are processed in a ball mill
Ball mill
A ball mill is a type of grinder used to grind materials into extremely fine powder for use in mineral dressing processes, paints, pyrotechnics, and ceramics.-Description:...
, basically a spinning drum with non-sparking ceramic or lead balls. The more time left in the mill, the more "explosive" the powder will be. One main reason to ball mill as opposed to other methods is because it presses sulfur and KNO3 into the porous charcoal.