DrWhooo
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Chemical waste
Hi guys.
I was wondering...how does a home scientist dispose of chemical waste?
Would neutralizing acids with base and vice versa and dumping it somewhere be safe? And what kind of container is safe against acids and bases?
Any comment is much appreciated..☺
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skip
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Buy some bag concrete and mix it in with tiny bit of water until its uniform and let it sit in 5 gal bucket until hard.
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BromicAcid
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There are plenty of other topics on the subject. Unlike some forums digging up old relevant topics and posting to them is encouraged, just take the
time and you will find what you are looking for. Here are a few relevant threads:
How to dispose of unknown chemical waste?
Subject: Waste Disposal
Disposal of mercury salts (hazardous waste in general)
Chemical Disposal
Professional Laboratories, how waste is dealt with
Those should get you going in the right direction. But let me give you the high points:
Lost of people dump their waste down the drain. Most will do this forever without consequence. Or maybe they dump it on the ground, in a corner, or
in a bucket to evaporate. Some will cement their waste (as the previous post indicates) and some will stockpile it. Others will recycle it,
re-distilling their solvents and acids. You can neutralize acids, bases, use some things for fertilizers. You can burn them or oxidize them with
Caro's acid, or kill them off with Fenton's reagent. Only a select few home chemists will resort to professional disposal. There are so many
different paths to suit whatever your fancy and situation may be. Being that you are likely working out of your back yard, no one is going to stop
you from any of these avenues.
But... improper disposal of hazardous waste is a crime in most countries. I have never heard of the EPA (my experience is in the states) coming after
an individual years later but they do it all the time with corporations. Cradle to grave is the term, and I would hate to be fined tens of thousands
of dollars years down the road for poor choices in my youth. Further you could contaminate your yard, ground water, neighborhood. It behooves you to
do your best to dispose of the waste in the most conscientious manner you can determine which can be a difficult thing to do especially when the
consequences seem vague or far off.
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j_sum1
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Nice answer Bromicacid.
I render everything I can to insoluble salts and stockpile precipitation waste. I evaporate off most of the water and stir the remains into a cement
block.
I am doing some work with Cr at the moment and take pains to not leave any in the VI oxidation state. Waste is poured into its own jar and I will
likely electrlyse it to metallic Cr at some stage.
I haven't got any organics that are particularly hazardous. most are left to evaporate (alcohols) while others are painted onto newspaper and disposed
of as solid waste (paraffin).
Acids and bases are neutralised. Most soluble waste I deal with are highly dilute. Much of that goes onto my compost heap. I figure nitrates will do
little harm and the bacteria in the compost are going to be the best agents I have for rendering anything else into its best environmental form.
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DrWhooo
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Thanx
Yeah thanks a lot guys..a lot of good tips..i will be reading those threads bromicacid...thx
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DrWhooo
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Thanx
Yeah thanks a lot guys..a lot of good tips..i will be reading those threads bromicacid...thx
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chemrox
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BrAcid mentioned EPA. In the US, as a home experimenter you are an "exempt small quantity generator." Mostly these are handled by county or municipal
waste handling (garbage) subcontract to an environmental company. Usually you would bring the waste to one of them. My biggest concern is groundwater.
In the US and elsewhere so many potential shallow drinking water sources have been compromised by industrial waste we actually use very few of them
and have to go much deeper with wells. Use the available services. They are private sector guys and don't give a shit what you're doing. If anyone
does ask, I would say, "that is not required information." But nobody asks. Anyway I collect waste in empty gallon bottles and take them to the county
facility on prescribed days.
"When you let the dumbasses vote you end up with populism followed by autocracy and getting back is a bitch." Plato (sort of)
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DrWhooo
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Thx for the info...yeah i dont live in the us but in my country disposal of chemicals is free off charge in the local dump yard but i just dont know
if i should take advantage of the offer seeing as i live in a small community...may be ill see some neighbour and have to friendly and explain myself,
hehe
By the way, what kind of container do you keep the waste.? Any specifications.?
Anyway thx
[Edited on 9-8-2015 by DrWhooo]
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aga
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Empty 5L distilled water jugs 
Or milk jugs - they're made of HDPE which is what stuff like Acids are sold in.
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