Bonny Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Is there an way to make Mg powder from MgCO3? I've read (on Wikipedia) that commercially, some Mg is produced from MgCl2.Which could be made from Mg and HCl. MgCl2(l) → Mg(l) + Cl2(g) Can usable powder be produced/hydrolized this way? If so how would I make set up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Magnesium is way to reactive to work like that. Commercially its made from electrolysis of anhydrous magnesium chloride with flux salts probably. Alot like sodium. Or perhaps its more like aluminum... Brain dead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 This subject has come up numerous times on rec.pyrotechnics and other forums. The consensus is that it's just not energy efficient in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 Enough said then! Thanks guys. Was just hoping there might be an easy way to make the powder... I've ground and ballmilled shavings to <100mesh, but after coating with linseed oil, end up with a clumpy mess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraafVaag Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Well, maybe you just added too much linseed oil. Try washing it in gasoline or white-spirit. It'd be a waste if you had to discard it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I saw an article on making powdered aluminium from scrap (cans and foil I think) They concluded that 3% staearic acid wax gave optimum protection against oxidation without over lubricating the milling mass -preventing milling! The stearic acis or linseed oil is there to protect the surface of the milled powder NOT lube the mix into a fluid mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I thought about trying to pull it out of some MgSO4 solution with some Li the other day. I did get a bit of Li out of a AAA that was laying around, I still have 3 more camera batteries and 2 huge military batteries that are about the size of D's that I think are Li. They were tied together in a big cel type of thing for somethin another, found them at the local scrap yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Well, maybe you just added too much linseed oil. Try washing it in gasoline or white-spirit. It'd be a waste if you had to discard it. I have no plans on discarding it.I try to put everything to use one way or another...I have used some in some colour star formulas, didn't perform very well, but still better than throwing away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 This just occurred to me... I was polishing paint off some Mg parts that I bought for making MgAl using a wire brush on a drill press. This produced quite a lot of very fine (airborn) Mg dust. I think placing a bag over the set up and holding the Mg (with vise grips) from outside the bag would be a viable way to produce powder when it can't easily be bought. This could then be sieved if needed or possibly used as is, considering particle size will likely be quite small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 As to milling Mg with stearic acid, I believe Mg is too reactive for this. Wire brushing may work, but all it would take is one tiny spark to ignite the superfine, unoxidized Mg dust. Even if you were to escape a burn, the UV from the fire may damage your eyes badly. A better option might be to make a high Mg ratio Mg/Al and crush it as normal. Say 70/30, or 80/20. Anything over 10% alloying metal should make it brittle enough to smash like the usual 50/50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 As to milling Mg with stearic acid, I believe Mg is too reactive for this. Wire brushing may work, but all it would take is one tiny spark to ignite the superfine, unoxidized Mg dust. Even if you were to escape a burn, the UV from the fire may damage your eyes badly. A better option might be to make a high Mg ratio Mg/Al and crush it as normal. Say 70/30, or 80/20. Anything over 10% alloying metal should make it brittle enough to smash like the usual 50/50. I know there is a huge spark risk, the first Mg powder I tried to make was with a die grinder and it sparked a few times rapidly consuming all my powder. The bright flash is also never good, I was a welder for 5 years and had lots of bright flashes. I may give this a try, but frequently remove the powder as it is made to avoid having much at a time.Otherwise, when I go to make my 50:50 MgAl one of these days I might try 80:20 and just use it where I would use Mg powder... I don't really have much use for it other than coloured flash, but if my perc/chlorate supplies become too hard to get I may have to start making more metal fuelled stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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