nimgoldman
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Safe Destruction of Nitroethane
I am trying to find a safe method to destroy a small amount (10-50 mL) of nitroethane.
I usually recycle solvents, but some is always left behind (e.g. residue from distillation). Some I have (2-5 mL) is possibly contaminated with toxic
dimethylnitrosamine, hence destruction is preferred over recycling.
The amount is too small to pay for professional waste disposal, yet too large to just discard it (environmental and health hazard).
One possible option is combustion but unlike with nitromethane, this produces toxic oxides of nitrogen (I have a fume hood so this is not a huge
issue).
Using strong acids, strong bases and oxidizers is hazardous as nitroethane forms shock explosives with them.
Evaporation might be yet another option (e.g. soaking in a towel and leaving to evaporate to dryness in a well ventilated or outside area).
I have a feeling that a controlled combustion (e.g. in a vessel) is not such a huge issue since it is destroyed this way industrially and it is
sometimes used as a fuel additive.
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Tsjerk
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I would go for combustion, whatever nitrogen oxides you emit won't hurt compaired to what is emitted on a daily base by cars.
If you really want to be good for the environment, I never do but props for you, you could consider collecting it with other waste. As long as there
are no metals and halogens you can collect until you have a couple of liters.
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Texium
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Thread Moved
6-11-2018 at 09:36 |
Herr Haber
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Combustion !
And if it didnt contain other nasties I'd use it to clean a white board that someone used a permanent marker on 
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Sulaiman
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50ml of nitroethane is not a lethal quantity but it would cause harm if ingested,
and 50 ml nitroethane burned outdoors is unlikely to be a significant contribution to local air pollution,
so I would just burn it.
I'd probably be tempted to do something more 'interesting' such as
pouring it over a pile of potassium permanganate or some other oxidants,
just to see what happens 
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morganbw
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I would save it and keep adding to it until there is enough to distill. That or just add it back into your next distillation of the product.
It is yours, however, to do with, as you wish.
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unionised
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Next time you have some garden waste (e.g. hedge clippings) to burn, add this to them just before lighting the fire.
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nimgoldman
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Quote: Originally posted by morganbw  | I would save it and keep adding to it until there is enough to distill. That or just add it back into your next distillation of the product.
It is yours, however, to do with, as you wish. |
The amount I have is just 1-2 mL, really a minute amount.
I asked about the 10-50 mL range theoretically, to discuss possible desctruction in case I have more that I need to discard relatively safely.
I planned to collect that for purification, but I got scared of the possible nitrosamine contam - especially the dimethyl- species which I've read is
extremely toxic and carcinogenic, freely soluble in water and nearly all organic solvents (what a nasty chemical that is).
Unfortunately, the methods capable of destroying nitrosamine will also destroy nitroethane.
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morganbw
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I guess I need to do some research on nitrosamine formation when making nitroethane. I had never heard of it before until the recent thread which
implied it. I do not recall seeing anything backing it up except thought experiments.
At any rate, it is not in my worry box.
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nimgoldman
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| Quote: Originally posted by morganbw | | I guess I need to do some research on nitrosamine formation when making nitroethane. I had never heard of it before until the recent thread which
implied it. I do not recall seeing anything backing it up except thought experiments. |
The theory goes that Kornblum-modified Victor Meyer reaction for producing nitroethane might create the right conditions for nitrosodimethylamine
formation if impure DMF is used (dimethylamine is a comon contaminant in DMF).
But I will burn it. Better be safe than sorry (or dead).
Nitrosodimethylamine can be (like other nitroso- compounds) destroyed by potassium permanganate in sulfuric acid. Hmm... might make an interesting
reaction with the nitroethane.
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weilawei
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I've used sulfuric acid to destroy anime impurities mixed into primary alcohols, specifically methylamine and dimethylamine, per the book Purification
of Laboratory Chemicals. This may not be safe for your purposes as it's concentrated.
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clearly_not_atara
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NOx emissions should be very low from such a small amount. You can decrease them further by mixing with another fuel such as cellulose (as unionised
suggests) or alcohol before combustion.
Nani???!
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weilawei
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| Quote: Originally posted by clearly_not_atara | NOx emissions should be very low from such a small amount. You can decrease them further by mixing with another fuel such as cellulose (as unionised
suggests) or alcohol before combustion.
Nani???! |
| Quote: | | Other purification procedures include pre-treatment with conc H2SO4 (3mL/L) to eliminate amines, and with KMnO4 to oxidise aldehydes, followed by
refluxing with KOH to resinify aldehydes, and distilling to remove traces of H3PO4 and other acidic impurities after passage through silica gel, and
drying over CaSO4. Water can be removed by azeotropic distillation with dichloromethane (azeotrope boils at 38.1o and contains 1.8% water) or
2,2,4-trimethylpentane. [Beilstein 1 IV 1289. |
I have a different edition (that's quoted from 6ed.) at home, but the description is substantially the same. More importantly, it works like a charm
in practice. The "impurities" were leftovers from a workup of a reaction. I clean up and recover my solvents, as I'm aiming for a zero hazardous waste
output in my lab. It's not always easy, and 100% isn't really possible, but I sleep better knowing I'm not putting anything out there and my costs for
normal hazardous waste disposal are minimized. Plus, I don't have to keep buying more solvents. At my work, we use solvents by the thousands of gallon
and burn off or ship out hundreds of gallons a day, all with strict EPA licensing and auditing of our waste streams and emissions. I can't afford to
imitate industry.
Also, the original question was about nitroethane, but I was focused on the possible impurities the OP described and the post immediately prior to
mine. Perhaps my comments are not applicable to this situation.
[Edited on 8-11-2018 by weilawei]
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woelen
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1 to 2 ml of (impure) nitromethane? Not worth any hassle. Just take a paper tissue, go outside and pour the liquid on it. For added fun you can burn
the tissue, otherwise just let it get dry and throw it in the waste bin afterwards.
Cleaning your glassware can be done by adding a solution of NaOH to it and shake it. The amount is so low that there will be no risk of dangerous
reactions. Just let all of it dissolve in the solution of NaOH and flush it down the drain.
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