Can liquid ozone substitute for liquid oxygen?

[cmb]

I was just wondering that if ozone is a strong[er] oxidizing agent [that oxygen alone] and its boiling point is higher than liquid oxygen [more practical?], then can it be used for applications where liquid oxygen is usually used?

 

[RocketSci5KN]

Ignoring the fact that it will easily detonate if you look at it funny, sure ;->

 

[cmb]

OK, but what are the conditions for its detonation? Are there no pressure/temperature conditions that can store it safely?

Is it any worse [lower or higher threshold for detonation] than, say, hydrogen peroxide? (I'm no chemist - go easy with me on the explanation!)

 

[D H]

Hydrogen peroxide is relatively safe, safe enough for use by a (very) careful amateur rocket builder. Liquid ozone isn't safe, period. The slightest contaminant, the slightest vibration, looking at it cross-eyed, kaboom. Using liquid ozone as a rocket propellant ozidizer is an old idea that goes back to the 1950s or before. It never worked because of the self-detonation problem. Even a liquid O2/O3 mix turned out to be problematic.

 

[RocketSci5KN]

H2O2 of 85% and stronger has been used by myself and other amateur rocketeers. It is not available from any chemical supplier, so you either need to know a source (sorry, can't share it), or make it yourself from 30% stock. The hot vapors from this can also detonate, so standard distillation is extremely hazardous, and must not be attempted. Once produced, however, it is very stable in the right container materials and poses no detonation hazard. It is an extremely strong oxidizer and must be understood and respected fully. You will not find out the needed information from any web search, so I would not consider this strength for your use. It is also a material of interest to DHS.

 

[ajkoer]

It should be noted that O3 is not a strong oxidizer, it is the strongest oxidizer, the implication being what could you possibly use with it in a practical manner? Possibly liquid NH3?

 

[Borek]

It should be noted that O3 is not a strong oxidizer, it is the strongest oxidizer

Is it?

 

[epenguin]

It is also a material of interest to DHS.

Yes I seem to remember some would-be terrorists being picked up in the UK because of their suspicious acquisition of quantities of hydrogen peroxide.

 

[ChrisJA]

Ignoring the fact that it will easily detonate if you look at it funny, sure ;->

I'd say so! Even pressurized O2 gas can kill you. I've used it in scuba diving. Mostly divers breath just plain air but sometimes they mix gases. The training I got about O2 is to treat it with respect. For example it you clean and rebuild a tank valve and there is as much as fingerprint grease left inside a plumbing part it will combust when you fill the tank to 2000+ PSI. People have had fingers blown off or worst when a valve is opened on a high pressure O2 scuba tank when there was oil residue inside the value. O3 would be even more reactive.

BTW the only use of pure O2 under water is on some VERY specialized dives that most people would never attempt. The injuries happen in the shops where people work on the equipment and fill tanks.

 

[storminmormin14]

Grated you had a power source, could you convert the O2 as it entered your combustion chamber. I guess it would also require your oxidizer and propellant to be mixed in the same place you combust it.