Green Fireworks

Submitted by-
S.No NAME ROLL NO

1 Karunesh 08107077

2 Ankit Garg 08107079

3 Kirti kumar 08107094

4 Nitish Sharma 08107078

5 Gurinder 08107016

6 Neeraj Dhankar 08107028

7 Puneet Bhola 08107045

Fireworks

Fireworks are a low explosive pyrotechnic device used

primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most
common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A
fireworks event (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnic)
is a display of the effects produced by firework devices.
Fireworks competitions are also regularly held at a number of
places. Fireworks (devices) take many forms to produce the
four primary effects: noise, light, smoke, and floating
materials (confetti for example). They may be designed to
burn with colored flames and sparks including red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, purple, and silver. Displays are common
throughout the world and are the focal point of many cultural
and religious celebrations.

Chemicals Used In Fireworks

Colors in fireworks are usually generated by pyrotechnic

stars—usually just called stars—which produce intense light
when ignited. Stars contain five basic types of ingredients.

 A fuel which allows the star to burn

 An oxidizer—a compound which produces (usually) oxygen
to support the combustion of the fuel
 Color-producing chemicals
 A binder which holds the pellet together.
 A Chlorine Donor which provides chlorine to strengthen
the color of the flame. Sometimes the oxidizer can serve
this purpose.
Harms
-of conventional fireworks

What’s not to love about fireworks? Bright bursts of color, awe-inspiring

flashes of light… asthma??!!! More and more people have been voicing
their concerns about the health risks (from particle-filled smoke and
lung-clogging antimony to heart-toxic Barium and body-contaminating
perchlorates) associated with our favorite nighttime spectacles,
especially since we’ll be experiencing a ton of them tomorrow for 4th of
July. Are there such things as eco-friendly fireworks? Scientists are busy
working on them right now, but at the moment, they are too cost-
prohibitive to make an appearance in displays this year.

Since we can’t purport to be green fireworks experts, here are the

articles that we’ve found to be the most informative on the subject:
When a conventional firework is set off, many pollutants fill the air,
such as lead, barium, chromium, chlorates, dioxins, smoke and
particulates, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen and sulfur oxides.
Conventional fireworks draw their energy from the
oxidation of carbon. Clean fireworks, on the other hand, would get
energy from the high temperatures that occur with the formation of
nitrogen-rich compounds. Some possible compounds could be tetrazoles
and tetrazines, which are made of four nitrogen atoms and either one or
two carbon atoms, respectively.
Generally the metals used for making the fireworks
attractive and colourful turn poisonous as soon as they are heated. These
chemicals include the perchlorates that are used as fuel in the fireworks.
Animal studies related to perchlorates, have shown that these cause
thyroid problems. Repeated pyrotechnic displays, especially ones that
occur every day at theme parks, can take their toll.
Pecchlorate, a type of salt in its solid form, dissolves and moves rapidly
in groundwater and surface water. Even in low concentrations in
drinking water supplies, perchlorate is known to inhibit the uptake of
iodine by the thyroid gland. While there are currently no federal
drinking water standards for perchlorate, some states have established
public health goals, or action levels, and some are in the process of
establishing state maximum contaminant levels. For example, the US
Environmental Protection Agency have studied the impacts of
perchlorate on the environment as well as drinking water. California has
also issued guidance regarding perchlorate us
 Going Green
-An Introduction

Against the dark black sky it is a show of glittering lights. The

entertainment zone added to most occasions. Fireworks clearly make
everything bright. Or do they? Global warming is a bitter reality today.
Fireworks may make a day out of our nights, but a recent research from
the University of Munich published in the journal Angewandte Chemie
tell us about the choking truth this entertainment can lead us to.

Technology has improved. Nothing is impossible. Environment friendly

firework products can be produced by using more nitrogen rich
compounds which changes the chemistry of the product making it more
safe with better colour quality and better intensity than the regular
fireworks.

“If you have a place where pyrotechnics are shot over and over again for
years and years, you will have a build-up of these toxins in the
environment,” said Chavez.

In the last few years, researchers have turned up with “greener”

alternatives. Currently the eco-friendly fireworks are being used only by
the companies that get into regular displays and that too for indoors,
since smoke is not permitted.
Role of Chemistry

ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2008) — You know it is chemistry when it

stinks and goes boom—and entrances us. “No other application in the
field of chemistry has such a positive association for the general
population as fireworks,” says Thomas Klapötke (University of Munich,
Germany). “However, pyrotechnical applications are significant
polluters of the environment.” In the journal Angewandte Chemie,
Klapötke and his co-author Georg Steinhauser (TU Vienna, Austria)
give an overview of how nitrogen-rich compounds and other new
strategies could help to limit the danger to the environment.

In addition to fireworks, the field of pyrotechnics includes applications

like airbags, signal flares, propellants and charges for civil and military
purposes, and the production of nanoporous metal foams for catalysis,
hydrogen storage, and insulation.
Scientists are creating fireworks made of chemicals that don't pollute the
atmosphere. These environmentally friendly fireworks could also offer
better color quality and intensity than conventional fireworks.

Pyrotechnics
 -With relation to fireworks

Pyrotechnics is the science of materials capable of undergoing self-

contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the
production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound. Pyrotechnics include
not only the manufacture of fireworks but items such as safety matches,
oxygen candles, explosive bolts and fasteners, and components of the
automotive airbag.

Pyrotechnic devices combine high reliability with very compact and

efficient energy storage, in the form chemical energy which is converted
to expanding hot gases either through deflagration or detonation. The
controlled action of a pyrotechnic device (initiated by any of several
means, including an electrical signal, optical signal or mechanical
impetus) makes possible a wide range of automated and/or remote
mechanical actions; for example, the deployment of safety equipment
and services, precisely timed release sequences, etc. The majority of the
technical pyrotechnic devices use propellants in their function, a
minority use materials that are classified as primary or secondary
explosives to obtain very fast and powerful mechanical (mostly cutting)
actions; for example cable cutters, exploding bolts, or similar
pyrotechnic fasteners.

Individuals responsible for the safe storage, handling, and functioning of

pyrotechnic devices are referred to as pyrotechnicians.

Pyrotechnical materials contain an oxidizer and a reducing agent;

depending on the application, binding material, propellant charges,
coloring agents and smoke- and sound-producing agents can be added.
When a firework or other pyrotechnic is set off, it releases a whole
cocktail of poisons damaging to humans and the environment: heavy
metals like lead, barium and chromium, chlorates, dioxins, smoke and
particulates, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen and sulfur oxides.

Pyrotechnic Categories:~
Modern pyrotechnics are, in general, divided into categories
based upon the type of effect produced or manufacturing
method. The most common categories are:

 Airburst - Hanging charges designed to burst into

spheres of sparks.
 Binary kits - Powders divided into oxidizer and fuel
intended to be mixed before use.
 Comets (meteor)- Rising shots resembling shooting stars.
 Preloaded Comet
 Preloaded Mine - Tubes containing a lift charge intended
to project stars, sparks, confetti or streamers.
 Preloaded Smoke Pot - Cartridges designed to release a
mushroom cloud of smoke.
 Preloaded Report (concussion tube) - Tubes designed to
create a loud report.
 Falls - Devices intended to drop like falling stars.
 Fireballs / Mortar Hits - Containers creating mushroom
clouds of flame.
 Flame Projector - Columns shooting pillars of flame.
 Flare (Torch) - Short, high intensity flames or various
colours.
 Flash Cotton (Sparkle String) - Cotton string
impregnated with nitrocellulose.
 Flashpaper - Sheets of nitrocellulose resembling tissue
paper.
 Flash Pot - A container for creating a bright flash and
smoke.
  Flash Tray (split mine) - A long tube creating a wide,
bright flash.
 Gerb (including fountain, whistle, and waterfall) - A
fountain of sparks.
 Lance - A small brightly colored fountain that produces
few sparks.
 Line Rockets - Whistling gerbs traveling across wires.
 Multi-Tube Article (multi-shot plate, multiple shot
repeater boards and bombardo boards; designed to
function in sequence) - Multiple effects chained
together.
 Pre-Mixed Powder - Powders intended to create various
effects. (Concussions, flashes, etc.)
 Squib - A small, pre-matched device typically used to
replicate bullet hits.
 Strobe - A device intended to create bright repetitive
flashes.
 Wheel (Saxon) - Tubes that create a spinning wheel of
sparks.

A basic theatrical effect, designed to create a jet or fountain

of sparks, is referred to as a gerb. A gerb consists of a
sufficiently strong and non-flammable container to hold the
pyrotechnic compound. Typical pyrotechnic formulations
consist either of flammable materials such as nitrocellulose
and/or blackpowder or a mixture of a fuel and oxidizer
blended in situ. A plug placed at one end of the container with
a small orifice, called a choke, constricts the expulsion of the
ignited pyrotechnic compound, increasing the size and
aggressiveness of the jet.

 Various ingredients may be added to pyrotechnic devices

to provide colour, smoke, noise or sparks. Special
additives and construction methods are used to modify
the character of the effect produced, either to enhance
or subdue the effect; for example, sandwiching layers of
pyrotechnic compounds containing potassium perchlorate,
sodium salicylate or sodium benzoate with layers that do
not creates a fountain of sparks with an undulating
whistle.

 In general, such pyrotechnic devices are initiated by a

remotely controlled electrical signal that causes an
electric match, or e-match, to produce ignition. The
remote control may be manual, via a switch console, or
computer controlled according to a pre-programmed
sequence and/or a sequence that tracks the live
performance via stage cues.

A Step Forward
Lucknow: Growing awareness about polluting
firecrackers motivated families, especially children, to
neglect them this time around.
Consequent to anti-firecracker campaign and awareness
drive about ill-effects of bursting harmful
firecrackers gaining momentum, manufacturers of
firecrackers supplied eco-friendly variants anticipating
public demand.

Thousands of residents in this City of Nawabs had

taken oath of using only eco- friendly crackers. Hence,
a high demand for eco-friendly firecrackers was
witnessed.
``We always purchase crackers from this shop only on
Diwali. But this time we thought that we won%u2019t
be bursting crackers, as it cause lot of pollution. But
when we came to know about this brand new crackers
being eco-friendly, we rushed to this shop and bought
all sorts of such crackers,``said Satish, a resident of
Lucknow

``On every Diwali, we try keeping new sorts of fire

crackers. But this time we have kept eco-friendly
firecrackers, and these crackers are doing pretty good
business. These firecrackers don%u2019t need to be
ignited. All you have to do is just twist its rim and it
will work automatically,`` said Gulshan Azad, a vendor
of firecrackers.

EFC’s
This Diwali you have the option of bursting as many crackers
as you want, without feeling guilty about polluting the
environment. Believe it or not, Eco Friendly Crackers (EFC)
are the new buzzword in the market and more than 50 per
cent of the buyers are preferring them to conventional
crackers this year.

The EFCs, according to Gulsher Azad of Azad Fireworks, only

produce light while the sound levels produced by them are way
under the decibel limits defined by the Pollution Control
Board. “Once they burst, they only produce lights of different
colours and spread paper fluffers, besides producing a sound
that is not at all irritating to the ears. These can also be
burst inside your room and will does not harm anyone or
destroy your belongings’’, said Azad, who is one of the biggest
cracker sellers in the state. According to Azad, the demand
for such crackers has increased as compared to last year as
customers are also becoming aware about environmental
concerns.

Surprisingly enough, the EFC stocks are totally made in India

and of a much superior quality as compared to Chinese
crackers available in the market. “Over 75 per cent of my
stock consists of EFC crackers, the sale of which has
increased by 30 per cent as compared to last year. Produced
by Sivaskasi-based manufacturers, they have also won several
awards overseas for their excellent quality and performance
of their products. The EFCs include a variety of items -
sparklers, rockets, high distance splashes and about 500
other varieties’’, adds Azad. The price range of the EFCs are
competitive —from Rs. 15 to Rs. 3200— thus they do not burn
a hole in your pockets

The crackers also bear fancy names to attract customers,

especially kids. Oxford, Titanic, Sings, National Treasure,
Fifty Shots, etc., that are attracting kids and teenagers. The
EFCs also have a special range this time - Pooja Special.
“These items, like Krishna Leela, Arti, etc., keep firing shots
in the air for a long time - 5 to 15 minutes - the time generally
taken to perform the Diwali pooja. Thus, you can start firing
crackers and offering pooja simultaneously,” explained Azad.
He also appealed to the citizens to use branded crackers, no
matter where they buy them from. “Besides being safe, they
are manufactured under the pollution norms prescribed by the
authorities. The local and conventional crackers are not only
unsafe but also add a large number of pollutants to the
environment’’, Azad says

Conclusion
 To protect the environment & maintain the entertainment of
fireworks, we searched the scientific world & all the
Pyrotechnics and found that Use of Percholates with
Nitrogenous compounds are very effective in reduction of
pollution.
Though they are a bit dangerous but with further research and
experiments, their volatility can be curbed by use of precise
amounts of chemicals.