[mortsotruk]

I apologize if this is in the wrong section... this section seemed like the most appropriate choice.

I make model rockets as a hobby and recently came across a decent quantity of gardening sulfur. The only problem is that it is impure, consisting of only 90% sulfur and the remaining 10% of clay. Although the rocket powder that I make using this isn't bad, I'd still like to know if there is any reasonable way to remove the clay from the gardening sulfur.

I really appreciate any *delete me* Thank you.

[mortsotruk]

Well I THINK I solved my problem (bear in mind I am certainly not a chemist).

I read online that sulfur is practically insoluble in water, and although I'm not sure if clay is technically soluble in water, I thought I might try a make shift cold water extraction attempt. It worked!

I put 3-4 spoon fulls of the gardening sulfur (90% sulfur, 10% clay) in a plastic jar and than filled the rest with about 1.5 cups of warm water. I closed the lid and then shook it until the solution appeared to have the gardening sulfur completely suspended. I then put the jar in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and sure enough, the sulfur had fallen to the bottom of the jar to form a nice think layer while the remaining clay was still suspended (or dissolved, I'm not quite sure). I then opened the jar and slowly poured the liquid out, leaving the sulfur paste at the bottom (it pretty much just stuck to the bottom even when pouring). I then spooned it out, placed the paste on some newspaper, and let it dry out in the sun for a few hours. I used it in some simple rocket fuel and I can see a slight increase in thrust.

Anyway I thought I'd post that this might be a good way to concentrate the sulfur from gardening sulfur. Again, I am no chemist and this might be a dumb way to do this.

[vmelkon]

I would put the stuff in a closed glass container (a distillator) and heat the stuff. I actually made a video not long ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3jWbCChHzw

enjoy!

[mortsotruk]

Thank you vmelkon! I think I get the jest of what you're doing but can you elaborate? I don't have sound right now so if you explained more in the video I apologize. Thanks again.

[billnotgatez]

closed glass container (a distillator) and heat the stuff

Heating something in a closed container sounds dangerous.