seashell1982
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Please help me dispose of ferric chloride solution
I added some ferric chloride solution to a solution of water and baking soda, hoping that an orange sludge would settle to the bottom leaving clear
water to pour off. But after about 30 minutes not much has settled to the bottom except excess baking soda. Now I have a much larger orange solution.
How do I dispose of this? Thanks.
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plante1999
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You dispose of it in a black hole, no seriously this is not a very toxic waste but if you want to dispose of it you could dry your mixture, take the
quake of iron waste and put it in your trash bin, it is not more dangerous than a salt/rust mixture.
I never asked for this.
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seashell1982
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How would I dry this? It's about a liter. Or can I just dump it down the toilet? I'm concerned about dumping ferric chloride into copper pipes.
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woelen
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Dump it in the toilet and immediately flush the toilet. Flush the toilet another time and then no residue will remain and all iron(III) is diluted so
much and neutralized by the bicarbonate that no harm to your pipes occurs. Iron salts are not particularly toxic and I feel not guilty if some of this
is flushed down the drain.
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seashell1982
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It looks like I was supposed to use sodium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate. Is there anything toxic from this reaction?
NaHCO3 + FeCl3
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ScienceSquirrel
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I would just tip it down the toilet, it will not be significant by the time it mixes with all the other sewage. Iron is a common metal in the
environment.
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Endimion17
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No harm done. If it ends up in the sea, the phytoplankton will enjoy the extra desert.
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ScienceSquirrel
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I suspect that sewage contains several ppm of iron anyway from food, menstrual and other blood, etc.
It will just stick to the sludge in the sewage farm and end up being spread on the soil, dumped in to municipal compost, etc.
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bquirky
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ferric chloride is sometimes used in sewage treatment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment
it is also ocationaly used in the treatment of drinking water.
There is no reason not to flush it down the drain.
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woelen
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Quote: Originally posted by RisingSun96815  | It looks like I was supposed to use sodium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate. Is there anything toxic from this reaction?
NaHCO3 + FeCl3 |
No, nothing toxic is formed in this reaction. Some CO2 is produced and
a mix of iron chloride, carbonate and possibly hydroxide. As mentioned many times now, it is safe for you and the environment to dump this in the
toilet.
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