## Parlon

**Formula**

$(C4H6Cl2)n$

**Pyrotechnics use**

Chlorine donor and binder

**Synonyms**

Chlorinated rubber, chlorub, pergut

**Description**

Parlon is a acetone-soluble polymer that is used as a chlorine donor and binder. It is a good example of one of the new chemicals that has become available in the past few decades for use in compositions.

Parlon is a registered trademark of the Hercules Powder Company, but-like "Kleenex" and "Band-Aid"-"Parlon" has come to be a generic name for any chlorinated rubber used to bind these stars, and to act as a chlorine donor (which enriches their color). Older brands of chlorinated rubber, such as Alloprene and Parlon, are no longer readily available, so what is typically supplied nowadays is Chlorub, the modern equivalent.  
  
Some Parlon comes as a powder which flows freely through a 40-mesh screen. Other varieties come with granules or small flakes which will not pass the same screen, comprising 10-12% of the total powder.  
  
These larger particles will soften in the star composition we are about to make once the acetone is added, so they may be left in the Parlon as it is weighed. Just remember that as you are mixing the star composition through the 40-mesh screen, these particles will not pass through the screen, and must be added back to the composition after it is screen-mixed.  
  
Alternatively, the larger particles may be removed from the Parlon with a 40-mesh screen and simply discarded. This makes the screen-mixing of the star composition a bit easier.

**Sources** 

Parlon seems to be available from dedicated pyro suppliers only. An alternative is polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

**Hazards**

Parlon is not particularly dangerous.

