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James Farner
Ms. Cooley
19 November 2014
Period 3/L.A.
Sugar Rockets
Picture a house. Inside, various family members are having dinner. The littlest child
inside is sneaking sugar out of the pantry. In the backyard, a gardener is removing a tree stump
with some remover he bought. Who knew that these two unlikely substances can be mixed into
rocket fuel? What ratio of oxidizer to fuel produces the most thrust in a solid rocket motor?
Based on my research, the perfect combination of oxidizer and fuel that releases the most energy
will be 66% stump remover (KNO3 or potassium nitrate) and 34% sugar (sucrose) The chemical
composition of solid rocket fuel, as well as the method of preparation both significantly affect
the amount of thrust produced by a rocket motor.
There are several factors responsible for the thrust created by a rocket motor. The
combustion of fuel in the rocket motor releases exhaust gases, which cause pressure inside the
motor. A nozzle on the motor allows the gas to escape, therefore dropping the pressure on the
nozzle side of the motor. This pressure difference is responsible for thrust. The pressure release
on only one side causes an unbalanced force, which pushes toward the other side of the motor.
The larger the pressure difference, the stronger the force, and therefore, more thrust. Jason
Smiley, author of Easy PVC Rockets, sums it all up in this statement, There is also a pressure
pushing up toward the top of the engine and there is a pressure pushing down toward the bottom
of the engine. Since there is a nozzle at the bottom...gases can escape and the pressure drops at

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this point near 0. This unbalanced force flies the rocket in a direction opposite to the side of the
motor with the nozzle.
To adjust the delicate balance between the amount of thrust created and how long it is
produced, the burn rate of the rocket propellant must be controlled. There are many different
kinds of propellant made of different materials that burn at different speeds. Before fine tuning
the burn rate, the proper propellant must be selected for the type of rocket being built. The size
of the rocket will determine whether you need a slow or fast burning propellant. For small
rockets, the faster the burn the better, while larger rockets need a slower burning propellant so
the rocket does not exceed pressure limits and explode (How to Make Sugar Rockets). Once
the proper propellant has been selected, the most efficient burn rate can be fine tuned. To
increase the burn rate in any propellant, either the surface area can be increased or a catalyst can
be added. To increase the surface area of a propellant, people commonly core the propellant
while it is cooling, after being poured inside the rocket motor. If coring the propellant does not
work, whether it increases the burn rate too much, not enough, or even the propellant cools too
fast, other options are available. As pressure inside a rocket motor increases, the speed of the
chemical reaction increases as well, and therefore, the burn rate. Adding a catalyst (Iron oxide is
the most common) into the fuel mixture of sugar rockets speeds up this process, increasing the
burn rate. Red iron oxide can be added to the fuel in small amounts (1-5%) to increase the burn
rate on a linear scale as the pressure inside the motor increases (the burn rate coefficient).
Conversely, Brown iron oxide can be added in small amounts (again 1-5%) to increase the burn
rate exponentially as the pressure inside the motor increases (the burn rate exponent) (Caramel
candy or R-candy).

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Besides these iron oxide additives, many other components make up sugar rocket fuel. As
is obvious by its name, sugar is used as the fuel in sugar rockets because of its high caloric
content. However, sugar does not burn in air very well. It needs more oxygen, faster than the air
can supply it, to burn fast enough to propel a rocket. The sugar gets this extra oxygen from a
chemical called an oxidizer, which contains oxygen atoms in its chemical bonds. Potassium
nitrate is the most common oxidizer used in sugar rockets. It makes a relatively stable fuel when
mixed with sugar, so it is safer to use than other oxidizers which can create an explosive mixture
when combined with the sugar. A little bit more than twice as much potassium nitrate as sugar is
required in the rocket fuel mixture to supply enough oxygen to the sugar. This makes the
theoretical best combination 66% potassium nitrate (shortened to KNO3) mixed with 34% sugar.
However, to make the math a little bit easier for rocket builders, the formula is almost always
rounded to 65% KNO3, 35% sugar. The higher the percentage of sugar compared to potassium
nitrate, the easier the fuel is to work with, and the less reactive it is. This is one of the reasons
why the recommended formula for beginners further lowers the potassium nitrate content to 60%
KNO3 with 40% sugar. These formulas are only guidelines, however, and many people enjoy
experimenting with these percentages to try and get better results. There are many additives that
may be included in the propellant, and may consist of up to 15% of the final product. Some of
the most popular additives include metallic additives like titanium, aluminium, and iron oxide.
Non-metallic additives, like carbon, baking soda, corn syrup, and glycerin are useful too.
Titanium and aluminum are used to produce a sparkling trail behind the rocket while the iron
oxides, as discussed earlier, increase burn rate. Carbon can be used as part of the fuel in large
amounts or as an opacifier in small amounts, producing a visible smoke trail (Rocket candy).
Baking soda is used in sugar rocket motors to slow the burn rate. Baking soda is sodium

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bicarbonate and it will inhibit the burn of the propellant therefore slowing it down(Smiley 85).
Corn syrup and glycerin make the cooled propellant more flexible and easier to work with, but in
the process they slightly reduce efficiency.
There are definitely many variations of rocket fuel, but without a good casing to hold the
propellant together, they would all be useless. A rocket motor casing is one of the most important
parts of the rocket motor, because it contains all of the burning propellant and its exhaust gases,
forces them in one direction, and holds the pressure imbalance that is so vital for the creation of
thrust. For sugar rockets, the best rocket motor casing is PVC pipe. It is light, for maximum
thrust, strong, for containing high pressures, and cheap, so that repeated experiments are not
going to break your wallet. An extra plus is that it comes pre assembled (only needing to be cut
to proper length) and easily found at your local hardware store in the plumbing section. As Jason
Smiley says, The cheapest and easiest and quickest tubes that are available to virtually everyone
is PVC pipe. For the tiniest motors (bottle rocket size) no PVC pipe is small enough, so use a
plastic tube from a cheap pen. For small motors, 1/2 in CPVC pipe is adequate. For medium
sized motors, 3/4 in PVC pipe will do. For very large motors 1 in PVC pipe and up is best.
Remember that different burn rates are required for different sized motors.
After the motor casings are made, actually mixing the rocket fuel is next up on the list.
There are many different methods in preparing the rocket fuel, with the most differences between
the methods of heating. Temperatures used range from around 180 degrees fahrenheit to 400
degrees fahrenheit (Carmel candy or R-candy) There are three methods of preparing the rocket
fuel. The first method is called dry compressed. This method does not require any heating
whatsoever. The sugar and potassium nitrate are ground as small as possible, then mixed and
pressed into the motor. This method is not used by serious experimenters because of its gross

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inefficiency. The second method is called dry heated. This method is the most commonly used.
In this method, the sugar and potassium nitrate are ground, then melted together. The potassium
nitrate does not actually melt, but the sugar does and coats the potassium nitrate particles. The
last method is relatively unknown to sugar rocket experimenters. The method is known as the
dissolved and heated method. In this method, the sugar and potassium nitrate are both dissolved
into water, then the water is boiled off until a mashed potato like mixture remains. Dissolving
the sugar and KN in water first and then heating the mixture has many advantages (Caramel
candy or R-candy). It does not require the chemicals to be finely powdered, you dont have to
pre-mix the ingredients. Also, the sugar does not caramelize, therefore increasing performance.
There are many different methods of heating the mixture too. The first of these is directly on
burner. This is very dangerous because of the possible ignition of the propellant. The second is a
double boiler. In this method, a burner heats a pan full of wax or oil, which then heats a pan with
the propellant in it. This is much safer, but still not preferred because of possible spills. The third
is the oven method. It heats the propellant rather evenly, but is very slow and messy. The fourth
method involves a toaster oven. This is the most dangerous method. It heats very unevenly, and it
is impossible to stir the propellant while it is inside. This setup most often leads to an explosive
ending. The fifth method uses an electric skillet or wok to heat the propellant. This is only the
second best method because it heats slightly unevenly and the temperature control is inaccurate.
The best and final option is the deep fryer (if thermostatically controlled). It heats fairly evenly,
and has an accurate temperature control. It is even better when utilized as the bottom of a double
boiler system to eliminate all heat differences across the bottom.
As you can see, the chemicals used in the creation of the rocket fuel and the method of its
preparation both significantly affect the amount of thrust produced by the finished rocket motor.

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The differences in the methods of heating cause the sugar to caramelize in different amounts,
therefore affecting thrust and overall performance. The chemicals used in the rocket fuel further
modify the amount of thrust produced by directly modifying burn rate and pressure. They
achieve this by changing the ratio of oxidizer to fuel, or adding burn rate modifiers like the
catalysts red and brown iron oxide. Baking soda, corn syrup, and glycerin all have their effects as
well. All of these different factors contribute to the modification, creation, and destruction of
thrust in the sugar rocket motor.

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Works Cited
""Caramel Candy" (R-candy) Rocket Propellant." "Caramel Candy" (R-candy) Rocket
Propellant. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
"Homemade Sugar Rocket." MAKE. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
"How to Make Sugar Rockets." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
"Rocket Candy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 July 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
Smiley, Jason. San Bernardino: n.p., 2014. Print.