Performance Study of Eco-Friendly and Safe Pyrotechnics for Fireworks

The combustion of traditional pyrotechnics will pose great risks to the environment and human health. Although sulfur-free pyrotechnics prepared from metals or expired military gunpowder have been used to solve this problem, the high sensitivity of them has resulted in insufficient safety. Therefore, new eco-friendly and safe pyrotechnics are urgently needed. In this study, we prepared novel metal-free pyrotechnic compositions for fireworks based on 5-amino tetrazole. The optimized formulations are proposed by calculation. Particle size effects on thermal stability and kinetics are tested. Then, the sensitivity tests, moisture absorption, and burst temperature test were analyzed and compared. The combustion heat and specific volume were also measured. The Py-GCMS and PM_2.5 were used to clarify the composition of gas products and confirm their environmental-friendly performance. The findings revealed that the novel pyrotechnics has a small amount of combustion residue, greater safety performance, and less PM_2.5 concentration. The novel pyrotechnics could generate 564.9 mL/g clean and non-toxic gas composed of 93.2% N₂, H₂O, and CO₂ without any NO_x or SO₂ vapor. The test results suggest that the new pyrotechnics can effectively increase gas production and reduce the content of CO and PM_2.5. So, it has great potential in application.