Throwing out ferric cholride

[s.r.v.]

Im not ready to yet, but i would like to know so i dont have a bottle of this sitting around forever! whats the best way to SAFELY throw it out. i know down the drain is bad, so any other suggestions? thanks!

[mdh]

Depending on where you live, there may be periodic "household hazardous waste" drop-off events at a local landfill or recycling center.  At least here in California, they tend to be free, because it's in the interest of the local governments to keep the local environment clean.  Plus, of course, we pay taxes to support this sort of thing (which quite frankly is perfectly fine by me).

Absent that, you might search for threads on how to precipitate the copper ions out of solution, rendering the waste a good deal less toxic.

[Mark Hammer]

We have lots of thread shere about safe disposal of FeCl.  Buy youirself a pound of baking soda and read those threads.

[MikeH]

Neutralize it with baking soda (or something like that), and mix it with concrete to make some nice puke-orange/brown bricks.  Build a house or just throw them away.

[s.r.v.]

so i read through i 5 page thread and found that if i add baking soda to it, i get a sludge that i can safely throw away with normal trash?

[MikeH]

That will make it so that it's no longer a hazard in terms of acidity, but you can still be releasing dissolved metals into the environment if you just throw away the sludge.  If you mix it with concrete it will be environmentally inert.  Or at least it will take a lot more time for the dissolved metals to be released into the environment.

[s.r.v.]

ferric chloride bricks? hmm im not liking that idea. thanks for the help guys

[brett]

Hi

but you can still be releasing dissolved metals into the environment

Don't worry about it.  If you put the used etchant (or sludge if you prefer) on your garden, that little bit of extra copper will be ok (plants can't grow without copper - I've bought it and applied it to my paddocks).  Personally, I'd mix it in a bit of water first (say 1 oz of etchant per pint of water).  Also, the tiny amount of acidity and iron won't affect the environment. 

If you want to help the environment, there are many things you can do (use public transport, turn off lights, don't use paper, don't eat fish, etc ...).

[Mark Hammer]

There is the environmental side of disposing of FeCl, and then there is the oh-my-god-how-do-I-get-this-stuff-off-of-me-and-how-do-I-get-it-off-the-rug-before-she-gets-home aspect.  You do NOT want to get any of this stuff on either clothing, furniture, countertops, rugs, etc.  It stains big time.  I had to take a grinder to my basement floor to get the damn stuff out when I spilled some about 6 years ago.  Your primary goal is to avoid spillage.  Much as I hate to say it, just below that is environmental concerns.

Mixing it with baking soda in a L A R G E container (it will increase in volume by somewhere around 800%) turns it into a rusty-looking powder that you can stick in a bag and put out with the garbage without being concerned with spillage at any point in transportation.  Since the baking soda results in much greater volume, it also results in much lower density, which places less strain on whatever bag you are transporting it in, and much less risk of breakage.  Since it is in powder form, you also don't have to be quite so concerned about small unseen holes leaking.

The general principal is that the more baking soda you mix it with, the less harmful it becomes, given the change in ppm....not unless baking soda is harmful.  If your conscience bothers you enough, bear in mind you can safely store bags of deactivated baking-soda/FeCl mixture for transportation later when and if your municipality has any sort of bring-us-your-worst disposal day, like ours does.  Again, because it will be a light powder that is easy to carry without being concerned about leakage, sticking a box of small bags of deactivated etchant in the back seat of the car poses little risk to the car.  So, just in terms of practicality, the baking soda route has a lot to commend it.

I would also suggest that you use some kind of sediment-gathering system.  That is, if you have a safe and foolproof way to separate the unused and still functional etchant from the used stuff at the bottom of the container (e.g., a second container and a suitable funnel/filter), then you can conserve the still usable etchant, and work your baking soda magic on just the sludge.  If we are talking reduction of environmental harm here, less etchant being disposed = less crap released in the environment.

[Electric_Death]

Hi

but you can still be releasing dissolved metals into the environment

Don't worry about it.  If you put the used etchant (or sludge if you prefer) on your garden, that little bit of extra copper will be ok (plants can't grow without copper - I've bought it and applied it to my paddocks).  Personally, I'd mix it in a bit of water first (say 1 oz of etchant per pint of water).  Also, the tiny amount of acidity and iron won't affect the environment. 

If you want to help the environment, there are many things you can do (use public transport, turn off lights, don't use paper, don't eat fish, etc ...).

This sounds logical, plants need an acidic PH to grow and they also need minerals, copper being one. I would think you'd want to really water the stuff down though, more like a gallon per ounce which means needing a lot of empty milk jugs, lol. I would however avoid using it on a garden in which you grow produce to eat. Try it on the neighbors flower beds first

[brett]

I would however avoid using it on a garden in which you grow produce

  Yeah, not on soil used for veges.  Especially root crops and tubers like carrots and potatoes.

[bside2234]

The directions on the bottle I have from Radio Shack says to, "flush it down the toilet." 

My garbage man lets me leave it in a bottle on top of my trash can so he can put it in a special compartment he has on his truck for disposal.