Development of a Sustainable Perchlorate-Free Yellow Pyrotechnical Strobe Formulation

Abstract

Novel yellow-light-emitting pyrotechnical strobe formulations absent of any chlorine sources were developed. The five yellow strobe formulations cover a frequency range of 7 Hz < x < 20 Hz and do not use potassium dichromate, which is frequently applied as a stabilizer. Frequency measurements and a comparison to a literature-known state-of-the-art red reference strobe formulation revealed a comparable flash separation. In addition, the newly developed formulations meet the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and European regulation law REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), as they do not contain any substances of very high concern, heavy metals, or chlorine atoms (Interim Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perchlorate; Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water, Health and Ecological Criteria Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, DC, 2008). Potential resulting synergies with a proposed replacement candidate for the M...