[Shpoon]

Hi, I have a reaction here that I'm trying to write balanced chemical equations for, but am beyond confused.

It involves heating potassium nitrate (KNO3) and Sugar (C12H22O11) together into a putty, than burning it (producing flames and smoke).

I'm attempting to break it into a few equations, and am simply lost.

Here's what I've got so far:

KNO3 -> KNO2 + O2

C12H22O11 + O2 -> CO2 + H2O + C <--SUBSTANTIAL amount of carbon is left over

Then according to a few resources I found, the smoke is formed from solid potassium carbonate particles in the vapor, which are formed from potassium hydroxide reacting with carbon dioxide, so I wrote:

KOH + CO2 -> K2CO3 + H2O

What I'm REALLY not sure about is the thing that forms the KOH:

C12H22O11 + KNO2 -> KOH + N2

Almost positive that ^ is wrong, but no clue what it should be.

Can anyone direct me in the right direction, or fix up what I've written?

Thanks a lot, I'll check back.

Even little hints to push me there would be greatly appreciated.

[Borek]

Simple answer: it is not possible to write balanced equation for this process. Ratio of products you have mentioned will vary depending on conditions/circumstances, as they are produced in separate processes. Many concurrent processes to be precise.

[Shpoon]

Alright, but then how about multiple smaller ones?

Really I just don't understand how the KOH is formed, the others *appear* to be right (to me at least).

Thanks for the reply though, will stop me from trying to combine it later

[Borek]

Perhaps K₂O + H₂O route. But TBH I have no idea.

[Shpoon]

Actually, I think that was a pretty good guess.

A quick look at wikipedia (as a reference only, I swear! )

Shows that KNO3 Decomposes to KNO2 + O2 (as we knew), but the KNO2 actually reacts like K2O.

Therefore the one I was missing was:

KNO2 + H2O -> N2 + KOH

Then the KOH instantly reacts with the CO2 from the previous oxidation of sugar to form the solid K2CO3 + H2O

----

Sound about right?

Thanks for your help once again!

[Borek]

KNO2 + H2O -> N2 + KOH

Not that easy - this one can be not balanced. Too much oxygen on the left. More like

4KNO₂ + 2H₂O -> 2N₂ + 4KOH + 3O₂

[Shpoon]

KNO2 + H2O -> N2 + KOH

Not that easy - this one can be not balanced. Too much oxygen on the left. More like

4KNO₂ + 2H₂O -> 2N₂ + 4KOH + 3O₂

Thank you very much. (Honestly, you're great).

If I come across any more problems I'll post them here.

Thanks again for your help.