I have a a sample of ethylenediamine which has eaten its way out of one container, and is coming close to eating its way out of a second. I have
therefore made the sad decision to dispose of it. Unfortunately, it can't just be thrown into a sewer.
Quantities of reagents are given for 1mL of ethylenediamine. Dissolve the ethylenediamine in 100mL of 3M sulfuric acid (17 mL of concentrated
sulfuric acid added to 83 mL of water). While stirring, add 10 g of potassium permanganate in small portions to avoid foaming. Stir the mixture
overnight. Add solid sodium bisulfite until the solution is colorless. Neutralize with 5% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution and wash the liquid into
the drain. Discard any small quantity of brown solid (manganese dioxide) as normal refuse.
Whilst I can in principle do this, it seems very wasteful (requiring 10x as much potassium permanganate, and 17x as much sulfuric acid). Are there
better ways of doing this? woelen - 15-4-2010 at 04:19
Instead of disposing of it, it might be interesting to make the salt ethylene diamine dihydrochloride or the sulfate from it by adding the right
amount of acid. This salt can be stored easily without any problems (no bad fumes, not more corrosive than e.g. ammonium chloride or ammonium
sulfate). You can make the salt by mixing the liquid with dilute acid (do this slowly, dropwise) and then simply let the liquid evaporate on a
dustfree warm dry place. Just let it stand for a few days or a week. Assure that there is no excess of acid, otherwise you'll end up with a terribly
hygroscopic salt, which is not easy to dry. Just to be sure it probably is best to have a tiny excess of ethylene diamine.
I have a few hundreds of grams of ethylene diamine sulfate and this compound is no problem at all in storage and it still allows me to do interesting
experiments with this compound, simply by adding some NaOH to a solution of it.
[Edited on 15-4-10 by woelen]Sedit - 15-4-2010 at 05:38
I suggest looking into the Lithium Complex thread I started and performing a simular experiment by dissolving the EDA in Et2O and adding Lithium to
see if it complexes the same way thats what I would surely do with it before tossing it out.
BTW, Why can't you just dump it in the sewer? It is after all just a simple amine and if one made the HCl salt of it and flushed it what harm could
come from it? As soon as it enters the ecosystem of the sewer I would think that bacteria would eat this in a heartbeat.franklyn - 15-4-2010 at 09:42
1. Should that not be stored in glass ?
2. Combustibles are best disposed of by burning outdoors.
3. What's the big deal , find a spot of vegetation when it's rained that
appears in need of nitrogen and pour it out there , it hydrolyzes easily.
4. Packed properly you can always dispose of it to me. pm me.
5. Do what woelen suggests you never know when it might be needed.
6. What's next , you'll be posting in beginnings ?
I have a a sample of ethylenediamine which has eaten its way out of one container, and is coming close to eating its way out of a second. I have
therefore made the sad decision to dispose of it. Unfortunately, it can't just be thrown into a sewer.
Sell it on eBay.
You would be surprised what has been sold e.g., 10-lbs of arsenic
oxide, 12-lbs of barium peroxide, paris green (copper acetoarensite).
I sold 3 of my children for medical experiments there. I am a fish - 16-4-2010 at 01:57
Quote:
Sell it on eBay.
I don't want to sell chemicals to people I don't know. Furthermore, mailing a corrosive liquid would be an absolute nightmare from a health and
safety point of view.
Instead of disposing of it, it might be interesting to make the salt ethylene diamine dihydrochloride or the sulfate from it by adding the right
amount of acid.
