Coal and Sulphur

[Jyodaiam]

An old lady that I know asked if I wants to clear some coal that had been sat in cellar and was no longer needed. I just been around to see how much there was and noticed some white stuff that seemed to have leeched out. It looks for salt or sulphure?

Question: is it useful for anything? Fire lighting? Or deadly poison!

Many thanks

 

[Skaukraft]

Sulphur is yellow (ish) and smells like fart.
If you got coal and sulphur youre halfway to make gun powder....

 

[santaman2000]

Sulphur is yellow (ish) and smells like fart.
If you got coal and sulphur youre halfway to make gun powder....

IIRC gunpowder needs charcoal, not coal.

 

[mousey]

Whats IIRC gunpowder? never heard of it before??

or even just the IIRC part - can't quite make that one out [insert scratches head smiley]

 

[resnikov]

If I Recall Correctly

 

[Jyodaiam]

Thanks for the thoughts I'll be nipping over this weekend and scrape the stuff up and subject to a barrage of tests - my daughter who's just started her chemistry gcse, an old chemistry set of mine, my nose and a spark. Will let you know.

 

[British Red]

Coal doesn't go off. Its survived being buried for a few million years or more. Its survises immersion is seawater for a millenia or ten. Its good. It also costs £300 a tonne or more. Is it useful? Well yes - for coal fires.

 

[Andy BB]

Don't you need a bit of urea to o with it to make the bang stuff? Guano works if I remember my Startrek correctly

 

[British Red]

Saltpetre Andy. Much more important than the sulphur as it happens.

 

[Lordyosch]

its equal parts saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate) Charcoal and Sulphur.

 

[British Red]

No it isn't as it happens - far from it in fact. However I suspect this is proably not a good place to disucess formulae for such substances

 

[John Fenna]

I like the Swiss recipe myself...

 

[Andy BB]

Saltpetre Andy. Much more important than the sulphur as it happens.

Typical! Trust Captain Kirk to get it wrong

 

[udamiano]

However I suspect this is proably not a good place to disucess formulae for such substances

Very true. discretion is the better part of valour, and all that

 

[Rod Paradise]

Typical! Trust Captain Kirk to get it wrong

Not that wrong - toilet spoil heaps were a source of saltpetre.

 

[British Red]

Indeed - nitre beds. Most was mined from guano sources though.

 

[British Red]

Very true. discretion is the better part of valour, and all that

It also prevents a change of user name to "stumpy"

 

[Rod Paradise]

It also prevents a change of user name to "stumpy"

That too!

 

[Jyodaiam]

Salt petre was my first thought. Any other thoughts on what it is? Or if it's useful the stuff on the coal. P.s. I wondered if the white stuff was useful not the coal that it'll keep m'stove burning over winter. It'll burn better being free

 

[British Red]

Doubt its saltpetre to be honest. Could be anything - salts leaching out of damp walls and dripping on the coal springs to mind.