by rick m » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:34 am
Just came across these old posts and they reminded me of the students in the afterschool rocketry club I used to have. I was sweeping autumn leaves from outside my door and one of my students said "Rocket fuel" and I said "Let's try it"
We let them thoroughly dry, crushed them, and then tried to grind it into a powder with mortar and pestle l (very hard to grind flexible flat things) and then soaked with super saturated solution of KNO3 for the oxidizer. The result? A very labor intensive low Isp propellant. After that experience, my students were always looking for new solid rocket fuels...cow dung, shavings from the pencil sharpener, etc.
Rick
Hard work is good for you, try it.