[Deersniper]

A friend of mine had a Squib with his 45-70 this weekend and he said his powder had turned green. Did it get resizing lube in it or did moisture mess it up?

[DaTeacha]

Do you know what color it was supposed to be? My first thought on green is the oxide you can get on brass sometimes if it's exposed to moisture for a long time.

[kansascoyote]

Copper would oxide green I guess it would depend on what the powder was compounded from if you know the powder type you should be able to look the compound up. If it has copper sulfate or dioxide or copper period for that matter in the compound that is your culprit . Moisture got in the powder.

[Mooseman684]

Because of the Nitrates in Powder , it is acidic and when moisture enters the picture it will attack the Brass inside and form a Greenish-Blue corrosion and break down the Powder. Brass is 68.5%-71.5% Copper alloyed with lead, iron and zinc...
Rich

[samuel]

There is no kind of copper in the composition of gun powder,either black or smokeless.The green had to come from the casing. ,,,sam.

[Deersniper]

Thanks for the replies. I was also told by an old cop that they warned them years ago about using penetrating oil, that it would seep into the shells. He keeps it stored in the original jar, in the A/C, could it be too old? Maybe he left the top off of it. He did recently get a tumbler, I'll ask him how he was cleaning the brass before he could of left moisture in the cases. I'm going to get him to register here, he's a good guy.

[Mooseman684]

Here is a list from Wiki...
The propellant formulations may contain various energetic and auxiliary components:

Propellants:
Nitrocellulose, an energetic component of most smokeless propellants[12]
Nitroglycerin, an energetic component of double-base and triple-base formulations[12]
Nitroguanidine, a component of triple-base formulations[12]
D1NA (bis-nitroxyethylnitramine)[13]
Fivonite (tetramethylolcyclopentanone)[13]
DGN (di-ethylene glycol dinitrate)[14]
Acetyl cellulose[15]
Deterrents, (or moderants), to slow the burning rate
Centralites (symmetrical diphenyl urea -- primarily diethyl or dimethyl)[16][17]
Dibutyl phthalate[12][17]
Dinitrotoluene (toxic, carcinogenic, and obsolete)[12][18]
Akardite (asymmetrical diphenyl urea)[14]
ortho-tolyl urethane[19]
Polyester adipate
Camphor (obsolete)[17]
Stabilizers, to prevent or slow down self-decomposition[20]
Diphenylamine[21]
Petroleum jelly[22]
Calcium carbonate[12]
Magnesium Oxide[14]
Sodium bicarbonate[15]
beta-naphthol methyl ether[19]
Amyl alcohol (obsolete)[23]
Aniline (obsolete)[24]
Decoppering additives, to hinder the buildup of copper residues from the gun barrel rifling
Tin metal and compounds (e.g., tin dioxide)[12][25]
Bismuth metal and compounds (e.g., bismuth trioxide, bismuth subcarbonate, bismuth nitrate, bismuth antimonide); the bismuth compounds are favored as copper dissolves in molten bismuth, forming brittle and easily removable alloy
Lead foil and lead compounds, phased out due to toxicity[13]
Flash reducers, to reduce the brightness of the muzzle flash (all have a disadvantage: the production of smoke)[26]
Potassium chloride[27]
Potassium nitrate
Potassium sulfate[12][25]
Potassium hydrogen tartarate (a byproduct of wine production formerly used by French artillery)[27]
Wear reduction additives, to lower the wear of the gun barrel liners[28]
Wax
Talc
Titanium dioxide
Polyurethane jackets over the powder bags, in large guns
Other additives
Ethyl acetate, a solvent for manufacture of spherical powder[22]
Rosin, a surfactant to hold the grain shape of spherical powder
Graphite, a lubricant to cover the grains and prevent them from sticking together, and to dissipate static electricity[11]

Rich

[George H]

seen powder turn brown but not green G