Black (smoky) gunpowder is a mixture of sodium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal.

| June 29, 2021 | education

Black (smoky) gunpowder is a mixture of sodium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal. Write the equations of the reactions that occur during the combustion of gunpowder

The combustion process of gunpowder is difficult to represent with one equation. In a simplified form, the black powder combustion equation can be written as follows:

2NaNO3 + 3C + S = 3CO2 + Na2S + N2.

However, the combustion process also produces sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, carbon monoxide and soot (carbon).

It should be borne in mind that charcoal is not only made of carbon. Its composition is rather complicated, but approximately it can be described by the formula C7H4O. In this regard, a more accurate equation will look like this:

6NaNO3 + C7H4O + 2S = Na2SO4 + Na2CO3 + 4CO2 + Na2S + + 2CO + 2H2O + 3N2.



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