CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT

Topic- Chemical explosive

 Origin of explosive properties in organic compounds
 Preparation and explosive properties of lead azide, PETN,
cyclonite (RDX)
 Introduction of rocket propellant

Name- Sipra Pradhan

Roll no – 1984015
Branch- Bsc llb
  ORIGIN OF EXPLOSIVE PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS-

An explosive material, also called explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great
amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually
accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. This potential energy stored
in an explosive material may be chemical energy pressurized gas or nuclear energy.
An explosive substance is a solid or liquid substance (or mixture of substances) which is in
itself capable by chemical reaction of producing gas at such a temperature and pressure and at
such a speed as to cause damage to the surroundings.
An explosive has four basic characteristics: -
(1) It is a chemical compound or mixture ignited by heat, shock, impact, friction, or a
combination of these conditions;
(2) Upon ignition, it decom-poses rapidly in a detonation;
(3) There is a rapid release of heat and large quantities of high-pressure gases that expand
rapidly with sufficient force to overcome confining forces;
(4) The energy released by the detonation of explosives produces four basic effects; (a) rock
fragmentation; (b) rock displacement; (c)ground vibration; and (d) air blast.
Classification of Explosives:
 Primary Explosives
 Low Explosives
 High Explosive
 Primary Explosives:
 Initiating Explosives or detonators.
 They are highly sensitive explosives , which explode on receiving a slight shock or
by fire.
1. Lead azide
2. Mercury Fulminate
3. Tetracene
4. Diazodinitro phenol
These are highly sensitive explosives which can explode under slightest shock or blow, by
ignition, and have to be very carefully handled. They are used in comparative small quantities
in blasting caps and cartridges. Lead Azide (PbN6) – It is low cost, excellent initiating action
and stable in storage. It reacts with brass and caps loaded with it are made of aluminium.
Mercury Fulminate (Hg(CNO)2) – More sensitive as well as more expensive lead azide but it
is slightly toxic. Tetracene (C2H7N7O) – it is low initiating primary explosive. It is mainly
used as detonator. Diazodinitro phenol (DDNP) – it is quite sensitive and has high brisance
value. It is used in blasting caps.

Low Explosive:

 They simply burn and do not explode suddenly.

 The chemical reactions taking place in such explosives are comparatively slow and
their burning proceeds from the surface inward in layers at an approximate rate of
20 cm per second.
Low explosives deflagrate rather than detonate. Their reaction velocities are 2000 to
less than 3000 feet per second. Black powder is a good example. These materials
normally have little water resistance, are highly flammable, sensitive to a No. 6 strength
blasting cap, and have a heaving action during blasting. Low explosives generally do
not fragment rock as well as high explosives. Colloidal cellulose nitrate (prepared by
treating cellulose with nitric acid and sulphuric acid) and gun powder (mixture of 75%
potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal, 10% sulphur) are examples of this category
Examples:
1. Black powder or gun-powder:
 It is a mixture of 75 % potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal and 10% sulphur.
 Uses- for blasting, in shells, igniters for propellants, practice bombs.
2. Smokeless powder (nitrocellulose):
 It is prepared by treating cellulose with nitric and sulphuric acids.
 It is called smokeless powder because it produces carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen, water vapour and almost no smoke.

High Explosive
 They have higher energy content than primary explosives.
 They are stable and quite insensitive to fire and mechanical shocks.
 Single compound explosives
 Ammonium nitrate
  2:4:6 – trinitrotoluene (TNT)
 Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
 Cylonite (RDX)
 Binary Explosives
 They consist of mixture of TNT with other explosives.
 TNT is an important ingredient of these binary explosives, because it has low melting
point.
 Ex: 1. Amatol: TNT + Ammonium nitrate.
2. pentolite: TNT + PETN, 50% each
3. Tropex: 40% RDX + 40% TNT + 20% Al powder.
 Plastic Explosives
 Combination of explosives which are in plastic state and can be hand
moulded and made into various shapes, without any serious risk.
 Dynamites
 They are containing of nitro-glycerine(NG) as a principal ingredient.
 NG is an oily-liquid, which detonates by pressure, shock, or
spontaneously above 50%.
1. Straight-dynamites
2. gelatine-dynamites
3. Gelignite: 65% blasting gelatine + 35% of absorbing powder. It can
be used under water.
1. Straight Dynamite - Nitro-glycerine in an absorbent, with velocities between 10,000 and
20,000 feet per second. This dynamite is the most sensitive of all commercial explosives. The
weight strength is the actual percentage of nitro-glycerine in the cartridge. This explosive has
poor fumes, good water resistance, and poor cohesion.
2.Gelatine Dynamite - Contains nitro-glycerine gelled with nitrocellulose, and various
absorbent filler mate-rails. Forms a soupy to rubber-like mixture which is water-resistant. (a)
Straight Gelatine - Has a detonation velocity of 13,000 to 23,000 feet per second. Varieties
with strength rating above 60 percent have poor fume characteristics. Water resistance is
excellent and material is very cohesive. (b) Ammonia or Special Gelatines - Similar in
composition to straight gelatine except that some of the nitro-glycerine is replaced with
ammonium and sodium nitrates and carbonaceous fuels.

 PREPARTION AND EXPLOSIVE PROPERTY OF LEAD

AZIDE
I - Lead Azide-
Chemical formula: Pb(N3)2 or N2PB

Molecular Weight: 291 g/mol

PREPARATION:
There are many methods for the preparation -
Some of the examples of preparation are as follows:
1- Sodium amide can be formed by reacting ammonia with sodium, sodium azide can be
treated with nitrous oxide. The preparation of lead azide can be obtained by treating
sodium azide with solution of lead acetate. Lead azide can be used for military
explosives.
NaNH2 + N2O ‘->’ NaN3 +H2O
2NaN3 +Pb(OAc)2 ‘->’Pb(N2) + 2NaOAc
Mercury Fulminate Hg (ONC)2:
A solution of ethyl alcohol can be added with the dissolved mercury in excess of conc. HNO3.
Then that mixture can be boiled, mercury fulminate gets precipitated. It is more sensitive than
lead azide and it is slightly toxic nature, so it is used less.
Pb (N3)2`|->` Pb + 3N2+ 0.6 k cal
Hg (ONC)2 `|->` Hg (g) + N2+ 2CO +117 k cal
Nitrobenzene:
Nitrobenzene is the main constituent of the commercial explosive known as indurate. It
consists of50% nitrobenzene and 40 % gun cotton; it is called American smokeless powder.
An American explosive consists of nitrobenzene 21% + KClO3 79%; preparation of
nitrobenzene is used in rack-a-rack.
Lead azide is prepared by the reaction of sodium azide and lead nitrate in aqueous solution.Lead
acetate can also be used.Thickeners such as dextrin or polyvinyl alcohol are often added to the
solution to stabilize the precipitated product.
 It is prepared by reacting aqueous solutions of sodium azide and lead nitrate with each
other.
2NaN3 + Pb(NO3)2 = Pb(N3)2 + NaNO3
 During the preparation, the formation of large crystals must be avoided, since the
breakup of the crystalline needles may produce an explosion.
 Accordingly, technical grade product is mostly manufactured which contains 92–96%
Pb(N3)2, and is precipitated in the presence of dextrin, polyvinyl alcohol, or other
substances which interfere with crystal growth.
 It is used in detonators to initiate secondary explosives.
 In a commercially usable form, it is a white to buff powder.
 Lead azide is employed as an initiating explosive in blasting caps.
 When used as a primary charge, it is effective in smaller quantities than mercury
fulminate, has a higher triggering rate, and, unlike mercury fulminate, cannot be dead-
pressed by even relatively low pressures.
 In order to improve its flammability, an easily flammable additive, such as lead
trinitroresorcinate, is added.

PROPERTIES:
 Lead azide appears as needles or white powder.
 It Explodes at 350°C
 Its Insoluble in water.
 It May explode from shock, heat, flame or friction when dry.
 The primary hazard is the blast effect of an instantaneous explosion and not flying
projectiles and fragments.
  When compressed into a capsule, lead azide ignites detonating or exploding the spark,
but not as immediately as mercury fulminate
 It is freely soluble in acetic acid and insoluble in ammonium hydroxide
 It is very sensitive, which increase risks of detonations but makes it a mandatory
compound in almost every explosive use, intense use and the presence of lead in the
raw materials (in the form of lead nitrate) and residues.
 It requires a higher temperature for spontaneous combustion and does not decompose
during long storage periods at moderately elevated temperatures.
 The lead azide is an explosive initiator, being more efficient than mercury fulminate.

II – PENT
Chemical formula: C5H8N4O12
Molecular Weight: 316.14 g/mol

STRUCTURE:

PREPARATION :
Production is by the reaction of pentaerythritol with concentrated nitric acid to form a
precipitate which can be recrystallized from acetone to give processable crystals.
In the first step the starting material pentaerythritol is produced by the reaction of formaldehyde
and acetaldehyde. There are three aldol reactions which form three new carbon-carbon bonds.
After these reactions a Canizzaro reaction leads to the intermediate pentaerythritol. Here is the
aldehyde reduced to an alcohol and formaldehyde is oxidized to formic acid. Now
pentaerythritol tetranitrate is formed by the reaction of pentaerythritol with concentrated nitric
acid. This step is an esterification of an alcohol (pen-taerythritol) and an acid (nitric acid), four
hydroxyl groups are transformed into four nitrate ester groups. Hence, production is by the
reaction of pentaerythritol with concentrated nitric acid to form a precipitate which can be
recrystallized from acetone to give processable crystals.
The most common use of PETN is as an explosive with high brisance.
 It is more difficult to detonate than primary explosives, so dropping or igniting
it will typically not cause an explosion (at atmospheric pressure it is difficult to
ignite and burns relatively slowly), but is more sensitive to shock and friction
than other secondary explosives such as TNT.
 It is rarely used alone, but primarily used in booster and bursting charges of
small calibre ammunition, in upper charges of detonators in some land mines
and shells, and as the explosive core of detonation cord.
 PETN is the least stable of the common military explosives, but can be stored
without significant deterioration for longer than nitro-glycerine or
nitrocellulose.

PROPERTIES:
 Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a nitrate ester explosive with a detonation velocity
of 8310 m s−1 at a density of 1.77 g cm−3.
 Pentaerythrite tetranitrate appears as white crystals.
 It’s density 1.75 g / cm3.
 An extremely dangerous explosive, particularly when dry. Especially sensitive to shock
and heat.
  Primary hazard is blast of an instantaneous explosion, not flying projectiles or
fragments.
 It’s melting point 138-140°C.
 It detonates at 210°C.
 PETN is mostly used as an initiating or booster explosive. So far, there have been many
kinds of effective methods for decreasing the sensitivities of high-sensitivity
explosives, such as surface coating, improving crystal quality, decreasing granularity,
etc.
 It is soluble in benzene, pyrene, toluene; sparingly soluble in alcohol & ether; very
soluble in acetone; slightly soluble in methanol.
 It explodes at 205-215 °C.

III- CYCLONITE(RDX)-
Molecular Formula- C3H6N6O6
Molecular weight- 222.12 g/mol

Structure-

PREPARTION:
Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, more commonly and hereinafter referred to as cyclonite, has
been prepared by a number of processes and the most satisfactory process from all aspects
involves the nitrolysis of hexamethylene tetramine with highly concentrated nitric acid. More
recently, this process has been materially improved by in corporating ammonium nitrate into
the nitric acid before reacting it with the hexamethylenetetramine. While such a process
provides an increased yield of cyclonite, it also possesses some inherent disadvantages. In such
a process, the removal of water from the system is time consuming and relatively expensive.
Also, the ammonium nitrate introduced into the reaction is recovered from the system as a solid
and is not returned to the reactor. In addition, such a process inherently involves losses of
materials and energy heat which detract from the efficiency of the operation.
All Cyclonite prepared by nitrolysis of hexamethylenetetramine has been found to contain
1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazacycloctatie (HMX). This impurity is not present in Cyclonite
prepared by oxidation of 1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane. The oxidation yields 1-
nitroso-3,5-dinitro-1,3,5-triaza-cyclohexane as an intermediate. There seems then to be a
difference in reactivity of two of the three aza linkages in triazacyclohexanes. Molten
ammonium nitrate is added to the reaction mixture and, after the reaction is complete, the
excess over that consumed by chemical reaction is recovered by evaporation of the volatile
components of the spent acid mixture and returned to the reactor. The ammonium nitrate in the
system is replenished by neutralization of a portion of the spent nitric acid. The neutralization
is executed concurrently with the last stage of the evaporation. Molten ammonium nitrate from
the evaporator is introduced directly into the reactor in which the hexa methylenetetramine is
nitrolysed. The reaction of the concentrated nitric acid with hexa methylenetetramine can be
carried out in any suitable equipment but is preferred to use a multi-compartment reactor to
insure that the dwell time of the reaction mixture in the reaction apparatus will be sufficiently
long for essentially complete conversion of the hexamethylene tetramine to cyclonite.
RDX is classified by chemists as a hexahydro-1,3,5-triazine derivative. It is obtained by
treating hexamine with white fuming nitric acid.

This nitrolysis reaction also produces methylene dinitrate, ammonium nitrate, and water as
byproducts. The overall reaction is:
C6H12N4 + 10 HNO3 → C3H6N6O6 + 3 CH2(ONO2)2 + NH4NO3 + 3 H2O
In a process for the preparation of cyclonite by mixing hexamine and nitric acid having a
concentration of at least 97.5% at a temperature up to about 30° C., adding ammonium nitrate
to the hexamine-acid mixture, permitting the temperature of the reaction mixture to rise to
about 85 C., and removing the resultant cyclonite there from by distillation and filtration of the
spent acid, the improvement comprising distilling the spent acid so as to precipitate
substantially all of the resultant cyclonite there from, cooling and filtering the spent acid to
remove the precipitated cyclonite, completing the distillation of the spent acid to remove
substantially all of the water there from, the water removal being conducted in the presence of
gaseous ammonia and at a temperature at least equivalent to the melting point of ammonium
nitrate so as to form molten ammonium nitrate, and adding the molten ammonium nitrate thus
obtained with any entrained cyclonite directly to a mixture of hexamine and nitric acid for the
preparation of additional cyclonite.
PROPERTIES:
 RDX stands for Royal Demolition explosive. It is also known as cyclonite or
hexogen. The chemical name for RDX is 1,3,5- trinitro- 1,3,5- triazine.
 It’s when heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of nitrogen oxides.
 It is white, crystalline powder.
 It’s boiling point is 276-280 °C.
 It is insoluble in ethanol; slightly soluble in ether; slightly soluble in ethyl acetate,
methanol, glacial acetic acid; practically insoluble in carbon tetrachloride, carbon
disulphide; readily sol in hot aniline, phenol, warm nitric acid.
 Its odour and taste are unknown.
 It is a synthetic product that does not occur naturally in the environment.
 It creates fumes when it is burned with other substances.
 The primary hazard is the blast effect of an instantaneous explosion, and not flying
projectiles and fragments.
 It is a white powder and is very explosive.
 RDX is used as an explosive and is also used in combination with other ingredients in
explosives.
 The stability of cyclonite is considerably superior to that of
PETN /pentaerythritol tetranitrate/ and nearly equal to TNT.
 It withstands storage at 85 °C for 10 months or at 100 °C for 100 hr without
measurable deterioration.

 INTRODUCTION OF ROCKET PROPELLANT

What is propellants ?

 Technically, the word propellant is the general name for chemicals used to
create thrust.

 A propellant is a chemical substance used in the production of energy or pressurized

gas that is subsequently used to create movement of a fluid or to generate propulsion
of vehicle, projectile, or other object
 Rocket propellant is a material used by a rocket as, or to produce in a chemical
reaction, the reaction mass (propulsive mass) that is ejected, typically with very high
speed, from a rocket engine to produce thrust, and thus provide spacecraft propulsion.
 A chemical rocket propellant undergoes exothermic chemical reactions to produce hot
gas.
 There may be a single propellant, or multiple propellants; in the latter case one can
distinguish fuel and oxidizer.
 The gases produced expand and push on a nozzle, which accelerates them until they
rush out of the back of the rocket at extremely high speed.
 For smaller attitude control thrusters, a compressed gas escapes the spacecraft
through a propelling nozzle.
 Types of propellants
There are four main types of chemical rocket propellants:

1- Solid Propellant
2-Liquid Propellant
3-Gas Propellant
4- Hybrid Propellant

1-SOLID PROPELLANT-
Solid propellants are either "composites" composed mostly of large, distinct macroscopic
particles or single, double, or triple-bases which are homogeneous mixtures of one or more
primary ingredients. Composites. typically consist of a mixture of granules of solid oxidizer
(examples: ammonium nitrate, ammonium per chlorate, potassium nitrate) in a polymer binder
with flakes or powders of: energetic compounds (examples: RDX, HMX), metallic additives
(examples: Aluminum, Beryllium), plasticizers, stabilizers, and/or burn rate modifiers (iron
oxide, copper oxide).

By the wording ‘solid’, it may imply to us that the propellant composition is in some sort of
hardened state. In the old days (but still around today) black powder, a mechanical mix
consisting of potassium nitrate (KNO3), sulphur (S) and charcoal (C) would either be
compressed mechanically or by adding rubber arabicum (natural rubber) to solidify the
otherwise powdery state of the ingredients. Both methods were essential for a good functioning
of a rocket in order to ensure smooth combustion with time whereas a propellant in just
powdered state would more likely lead to unpredictable burning with the increased risk of
motor rupture (explosion).
When black powder burns, it does this with a high temperature flame producing huge amount
of smoke and solid products. The chemical reaction (simplified) of burning black powder is
given below:
10KNO3(s) + 8C(s) + 3S(s) → 2K2CO3(s) + 4K2SO4(s) + 6CO2(g) + 5N2(g)
Black powder is still in use as a rocket propellant, but only found in fireworks and model rocket
motors. Black powder may occasionally be used for igniting solid propellant rocket motors.
Due to its low specific impulse, hygroscopic and powdery nature, the propellant has for long
been replace by far more energetic, mechanical strong and stable compounds.
Modern solid propellants consist of ingredients that are in a solid and liquid state during the
mixing process. All solids are typically based on an oxygen rich salt like ammonium
perchlorate (NH4ClO4) as the oxidizer and aluminium powder (Al) as fuel. Ammonium
perchlorate contains 54.5 % per weight oxygen. The liquid part is often an industrial long chain
polymer. The purpose of the polymer is to harden and thereby fixate the powered based part of
the mix. A commonly used polymer is Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene or HTPB
(CxHyOz). The hardening process is triggered by adding a hardener agent like Isoforon
diisocyanat (C12H18N2O2) in order to start the cross-polymerization process. After mixing
the propellant typically has a viscous state. The mixture is then poured by gravity or by pressure
over to the rocket chamber where a casting mandrel is placed in the center of the engine. The
geometry of the mandrel will vary from program to program. Often it can have a star shape.
When the propellant has filled the allowable volume, the motor will be transported to a curing
oven. Typically, the mix will be allowed cure for a weekly long period at an elevated
temperature (60–70 °C). When cured, the propellant grain can be compared to the sensation of
touching an ink rubber. A modern composite propellant charge can contain eighteen different
ingredients. The main important ones are the molecule holding the oxygen (oxygen rich salt)
and a fuel, e.g. aluminium, beryllium or the fuel binder itself. Other minor per mass ingredients
are additives for chemical stability, pot life plasticizer, burn rate catalysts, anti-softening,
curing additives, and more.

Advantages of liquid propellants

 Liquid-fuelled rockets have higher specific impulse than solid rockets.
 They are capable of being throttled, shut down, and restarted.

Disadvantages of liquid propellants

 These are generally least moderately difficult to store and handle due to their low
reactivity with common materials.
 Several exotic oxidizers have been proposed which are unstable, energetic, and
toxic.

2-LIQUID PROPELLANT-
In a liquid propellant rocket, the fuel and oxidizer are stored in separate tanks, and are fed
through a system of pipes, valves, and turbo pumps to a combustion chamber where they are
combined and burned to produce thrust. A good liquid propellant is one with a high specific
impulse or, stated another way, one with a high speed of exhaust gas ejection. This implies a
high combustion temperature and exhaust gases with small molecular weights. However, there
is another important factor which must be taken into consideration: the density of the
propellant. Storage temperature is also important.

Rockets that need higher energy propellants and controllability (throttling or restart capability)
often choose liquid propellants. Generally speaking, liquid propellant combinations has higher
energy levels (specific impulse) than solid propellant mixtures. A high energy propellant
combination often used in launch vehicles is the mixture between oxygen and hydrogen.
Depending on the mixture ratio, the specific impulse level can reach above 4300 m/s (438 s).
This is 1.7 times more efficient than a modern solid propellant.
When we are talking about liquid propellants, we are often dividing them into the following
parts:
a) Room storable propellants
b) Cryogenic propellants
c) Monopropellants
Liquids that holds a liquid state at room temperature is said to be room storable. These types
of propellants are often easier to handle and store. Generally, they have a lower energy level
than cryogenic type of propellants. Liquid propellants in cryogenic state means that the
temperature required for liquid state is well below the room temperature. Typically, a gas like
hydrogen or oxygen becomes a liquid when chilled down to a low enough temperature.
In liquid rocket engines the reactants are stored in their respective tanks. Then they are either
pushed by pressure or pumped into the combustion chamber where they are mixed and burned.
By having the reactants separated makes the liquid rocket engine very safe compare to the solid
propellant rocket motor where the propellant is premixed and stored inside a single
compartment. The downside is increased complexity since several tanks/pressure vessels are
needed alongside tubing and valves. On top of that we also need electronic sensors and control
devices.
That said, an important benefit with liquid rocket engines is that they are much more
controllable in respect to thrust modulation and the ability turn the engine off and even on
again. Features which are extremely difficult in solid propellant motors. Liquid rocket engines
often are used in launch vehicles, space crafts and landers. A third type of liquid propellants
are named monopropellants. This means propellants that alone can perform an exothermal
decomposition process releasing energy that can be utilized for creating thrust.
Advantages of liquid propellants
 Liquid-fueled rockets have higher specific impulse than solid rockets.
 They are capable of being throttled, shut down, and restarted.
Disadvantages of liquid propellants
 These are generally least moderately difficult to store and handle due to their
low reactivity with common materials.
 Several exotic oxidizers have been proposed which are unstable, energetic, and
toxic

3-GAS PROPELLANT-
A gas propellant usually involves some sort of compressed gas. However, due to the low
density and high weight of the pressure vessel, gases see little current use, but are sometimes
used for Vernier engines, particularly with inert propellants.

Advantages of gas propellants

 They do not burn (although other liquids in the aerosol may burn).
 They are readily available and cheap.
Disadvantage of gas propellants
 The pressure in the can reduces over the lifetime of the aerosol.

4- HYBRID PROPELLANTS-
A hybrid rocket usually has a solid fuel and a liquid or gas oxidizer. The fluid oxidizer can
make it possible to throttle and restart the motor just like a liquid-fuelled rocket. Hybrid
rockets can also be environmentally safer than solid rockets since some high-performance
solid-phase oxidizers contain chlorine (specifically composites with ammonium per chlorate),
versus the more benign liquid oxygen or nitrous oxide often used in hybrids. This is only true
for specific hybrid systems.

A classical hybrid rocket motor uses an oxidizer in liquid state. The solid fuel part is different
from the solid propellant that it does not contain any oxidizer (oxygen rich salt). The fuel is
thereby totally inert, which makes the classical hybrid rocket engines very safe. The
following table lists some propellant combinations at chamber pressure of 3.45 MPa.
A well-designed hybrid rocket motor will be very robust and safe. Since the combustion
mechanism is not pressure dependent as in solid propellant rocket motors, any crack or
debond (larger burn surface) will have little to no effect on the motor performance. A crack
or debond in a solid motor is often enough to cause catastrophic failure by over-pressure.
Hybrids are more complex than solid propellant motors since the need a separate volume for
the oxidizer, pressuring system, tubes and valves. However, they are less complex than a
liquid rocket engine. Hybrid has shown to be excellent for throttling, on demand termination
and restart. Specific impulse may be higher than most solid propellants.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ROCKET PROPELLANTS-
 Chemical propellants in common use deliver specific impulse values ranging from
about 175 up to about 300 seconds. The most energetic chemical propellants are
theoretically capable of specific impulses up to about 400 seconds.
 High values of specific impulse are obtained from high exhaust-gas temperature, and
from exhaust gas having very low molecular weight.
 To be efficient, therefore, a propellant should have a large heat of combustion to yield
high temperatures, and should produce combustion products containing simple, light
molecules embodying such elements as hydrogen (the lightest), carbon, oxygen,
fluorine, and the lighter metals (aluminium, beryllium, lithium).
 Another important factor is the density of a propellant. A given weight of dense
propellant can be carried in a smaller, lighter tank than the same weight of a low-
density propellant.
 Liquid hydrogen, for example, is energetic and its combustion gases are light.
However, it is a very bulky substance, requiring large tanks. The dead weight of these
tanks partly offsets the high specific impulse of the hydrogen propellant.
 Some chemicals that yield excellent specific impulse create problems in engine
operation. Some are not adequate as coolants for the hot thrust-chamber walls. Others
exhibit peculiarities in combustion that render their use difficult or impossible. Some
are unstable to varying degrees, and cannot be safely stored or handled. Such features
inhibit their use for rocket propulsion.
 Unfortunately, almost any propellant that gives good performance is apt to be a very
active chemical; hence, most propellants are corrosive, flammable, or toxic, and are
often all three. One of the most tractable liquid propellants is gasoline. But while it is
comparatively simple to use, gasoline is, of course, highly flammable and must be
handled with care.
 Also essential to the choice of a rocket propellant is its availability. In some cases, in
order to obtain adequate amounts of a propellant, an entire new chemical plant must be
built. And because some propellants are used in very large quantities, the availability
of raw materials must be considered.