The team is currently investigating nitrocellulose as an alternative pyrotechnic mechanism to black powder.
Potential Advantages
Nitrocellulose has a number of advantages over the traditionally used 4F Black Powder. Nitrocellulose's combustion products are all gaseous. The reaction follows the following equation:
2C6H7N3O11+92O2 \longrightarrow 12CO2+3N2+7H2O |
Resources:
The Burning Rate Behavior of Pure Nitrocellulose Propellant Samples from the Army Research Laboratory