Preparation of High Purity Amorphous Boron Powder

K.V. Tilekar; V.P. Gajbhiye; Hima Prasanth; T. Soman

doi:10.14429/dsj.55.2009

K.V. Tilekar High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune
V.P. Gajbhiye High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune
Hima Prasanth High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune
T. Soman High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14429/dsj.55.2009

Keywords: Amorphous boron powder, igniter formulations, process optimisation, preparation, high purity, boron, fuel-rich propellent, oxidative roasting

Abstract

Amorphous boron powder of high purity (92-94 %) with a particle size of l-2 mm is preferred as a fuel for fuel-rich propellants for integrated rocket ramjets and for igniter formulations. This
paper describes the studies on process optimisation of two processes, ie, oxidative roasting of boron (roasting boron in air) and roasting boron with zinc in an inert medium for preparing high purity boron. Experimental studies reveal that roasting boron with zinc at optimised process conditions yields boron of purity more than 93 per cent, whereas oxidative roasting method yields boron of purity - 92 per cent. Oxidative roasting has comparative edge over the other processes owing to its ease of scale-up and simplicity