HOW TO MAKE NITROCELLULOSE A.K.A GUNCOTTON

This instructable will outline the process involved and the resources needed to produce guncotton (nitrocellulose)

*legal Disclaimer*
i am not responsible for any damage caused by the use of this instructable, whether it be personal public phisical or mental...
the chemicals used in this procedure are very dangerous and should be dealt with as thus..
thank you.

-=-Sparkles-=- -=-TeaM-PyRO-=-

Step 1: MATERIALS

First off, we have to get our supplies.. baisically they consist of:
nitric acid 25 ml approximatly 67%
sulfuric acid 50ml 90% is pretty acceptable
cotton balls or any form of pure cotton e.g. T-shirt
beaker
stiring rod

optional items:
gloves
face mask
ice bath
salt
thermometer
goggles [recomended]

Comments

[graysonipper]

Im not sure if ur still answering questions but I am trying to make some gun cotten for a 'model' cannon would this cotton really work and would I be able to distill weak acid enough to acheive strong acid levels

[Detonator]

If soaking the cotton in sodium carbonate water is fine then is it a good idea to store the cotton in a jar of water?(Because you said it was unstable to store earlier)

[ReeToric]

My chemistry teacher once warned the whole class about messing about with this sort of stuff by telling us stories of kids who blinded themselves, lost fingers, burned their skin etc. Not only is making this stuff likely to be illegal in most western countries in any case (with the possible exception of the USA) bearing in mind the recent hysteria over 'terrorism', if you make this stuff and/or have an accident whilst doing so you could find yourself taking a very long vacation in a zero star hotel. This sort of stuff should only be made under controlled conditions - i.e. a university chem. lab

[franklinonline]

i think this is illegal if you just make it without some sort of piyro or science licence what is a terrost going to do? oh light some cotton balls on fire? you can have like half a cotton ball of this, lite it, and you wont feel it, as it burns so fast youle be in jail foreever

[dariel24]

What happen if when I mix the cotton ball in those acids and the temperature raise more than 15 degrees? to be precise, what is the maximum temperature when mixing the cotton and acids???

[franklinonline]

if it rises too much then you get a flaming stuff thats really hard to put out and it may crack the glass, getting acid all over you burning you both chemicly and fire wise

[SLEDGE-HAMMER]

TO BE PRECISE THE TEMP. IS 25 DEGREES N I TAKE GOOD CARE TO MAITAIN IT BOTH DURING MIXING THE TWO ACIDS N ADDING THE COTTON BALLS.

[PKTraceur]

Dude, caps lock off. Seriously.

[dariel24]

wait a minute..... it's..... in degree celcius right? if it's in degrees fahrenheit i need to do it inside freezer cus' i live near the equator. hot temperature all day..... :-P

[dariel24]

OK thanks.

[lasermaster3531]

okay. this might be a little hard for some of you people to take in. this procedure is WRONG! NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER neglect to neutralize the acid in the cotton with a bicarb solution. it will burn your skin when you pick it up, and it will spontaneously ignite. if it doesn't auto-ignite, it will decompose within two days. I repeat,ALWAYS neutralize the acid!

[franklinonline]

once it is dry, i dont think there is any acid left just dont pick it up when its wet

[Mattrox]

Thanks for this instructable I t has help me a lot

[maxzzthepyro]

where do u get those types of acid

[lasermaster3531]

hardware store, maybe and an auto parts store

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[Tombini]

If the reaction is 2H2SO4 + 2KNO3 = 2HNO3 + 2KSO4 +H2
Is KSO4 dangerous and does it have any uses?

[airsoftlife]

Potassium Sulfate is stable, and pretty much useless. Unless you want to melt it down to get a certain Alkali metal...*cough* But it is virtually insoluble and pretty much just a pain in the neck to deal with.

[alexhalford]

Melting potassium sulphate will not yield potassium.

[airsoftlife]

No. However, melting it down, and electrolyzing with a high voltage to break the bonds WILL.
==>K+SO4<g>

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[Tombini]

What state is KHSO4?

[Country dude]

3 questions 1)how to do you get the acid without doing the car batterie thing 2)how do you get the nitric acid (easily) 3) would you be able to use this as a substitute in a homemade musket type gun instead of gun powder

[Estwald]

Guncotton and blackpowder have completely different pressure curves. A homemade musket type gun that has proven safe with blackpowder may fail violently when guncotton is used. Even modern commercially made replica musket type guns do not recommend using smokeless powders. Most smokeless powders (modern gunpowders) are based on nitrocellulose (guncotton).

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[Estwald]

Not just more gases, but also much faster resulting in a sharper, steeper pressure curve. This puts greater stresses on the barrel.

[trippyjoe]

I got concentrated sulfuric acid at ace hardware today, it was in a gallon jug in plastic, in the drain cleaner isle all the other drain cleaners were basic not acids. it claimed proffessional grade drain cleaner

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[PyromaniacDaniel]

for this project why do you need to distill it? for after you distill it you are just going to mix it with sulfuric acid again. Is it really necessary to remove the KHSO4?

[PyromaniacDaniel]

why was the above comment removed? was it incorrect information?

[alexhalford]

No, but after a couple of months I tend to delete my comments.

[PyromaniacDaniel]

Will you please re post your comment on using sulfuric acid and potassium nitrate to make nitric acid. I would still like to do so and was not expecting your comment to disappear. Also is this reaction exothermic? I think you should always leave your posts up. If its worth mentioning once its worth leaving up and if its not worth leaving up it not worth mentioning once. (just my opinion though)

[Country dude]

Thanks ffor that and I have another 3 questions 1)How long do I boil for and what safety precations should I take 2)how do I distill 3)and were do I get stump remover

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[Country dude]

thanks and is there any other method than using acid because my dad won't let me use acid O and thanks for all this info

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[GreenDay]

If you're using a black powder cannon it should be cleaned after every shot anyways. If there is any spark down the barrel when you load the next round it could cause a premature firing and hurt or kill someone. The barrel should also have a silver lining or something similar to prevent pieces of the barrel from chipping off and becoming projectiles.

[alexhalford]

(removed by author or community request)

[Tombini]

I just wish my Science teacher Mr Mcfarlane will get his grubby hands of the concentrated nitric acid! He treats it like his own child.

[Localghost]

one can buy both nitric acid AND sulphuric acid at a pharmacy ( drugstore)... well in my country atleast they can order it for you, no questions asked..