Combustion of Metal Particles in Various Gases – Investigation and Recent Application

Metal and metalloid particles are utilized as energetic fuels to enhance the performance of rocket propellants, pyrotechnics, and explosives due to their high energy density in terms of mass and volume. These particles can burn strongly exothermally with various oxidizing agents. In addition to traditional oxidizing salts, fluorocarbons, and oxides of more noble metals, many metal particles react exothermally with gases such as oxygen, air, water vapor, carbon monoxide, and even nitrogen. In rocket propulsion, boron is utilized in air-breathing engines, while aluminum is used in metalized composite solid rocket propellants to reduce organic reaction products like water and CO2, thereby generating additional thrust through increased gas temperature and gaseous compounds with lower molecular weight. Metal dust explosions can produce significant heat and pressure in large volumes without generating shock waves, making them useful in military application and a topic in industrial safety research. Recent studies on metal fuels focused on the potential as a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels like coal and heavy oil. Suitable metal particles are seen as a renewable and recyclable energy source for power generation and for powering ocean-going vessels.