title: A new kind of Molotov? Gasoline-pool chlorinator mixtures.
abstract: This paper investigates the reaction between pool chlorinators and gasoline. In particular, the propensity for self-ignition and the resulting chemical products were studied. An organic pool chlorinator was combined with gasoline in varying proportions in an attempt to form a hypergolic mixture. None of the combinations resulted in self-ignition, but larger quantities of chlorinator produced vigorous light-colored smoke and a solid mass containing isocyanuric acid and copper chloride. Additionally, the chlorinating abilities of different commercially available pool chlorinators were explored. When Ca(ClO)(2) and sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione-based chlorinators were used, the presence of gasoline was still visible after 10 days, despite limited chlorination. The trichloro-s-triazinetrione-based chlorinator, however, caused efficient chlorination of the C(2)- and C(3)-alkylbenzenes, making gasoline no longer identifiable.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Forensic Science Laboratory, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA. katherine.hutches@atf.gov
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hutches
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lord