ManyInterests
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disposal of ETN via sodium hydroxide
I mentioned in another thread that I disposed of my surplus NHN (Nickel Hydrazine Nitrate) using a sodium hydroxide solution, and I know it was taken
care of when everything turned to green (nickel (II) oxide I assume) and I poured the remaining mixture down the drain.
I had around 18 or so grams of ETN that I no longer needed as well, and since I read on the wiki that they can be disposed of in a sodium hydroxide
solution as well, I tried to do the same. I made a strong hydroxide solution and mixed in all my ETN before stirring constantly at first, then every
half an hour or so afterward. Then I covered the container and put it in the fridge. There was clear degradation of the ETN (it was much chunkier and
turned yellow to off-yellow, but there was a bit of white left in it). After a while I disposed of the liquid down the drain and refilled the
container again with plenty of sodium hydroxide (I got a brand new 500 gram container of sodium hydroxide and probably half of it is gone already!)
and it's been a few hours without any change of color to the liquid or the leftover chunks.
I assume they were already neutralized before I added the 2nd dose of sodium hydroxide? I will disposed of the liquid again and just put the chunks in
the trash in that case since the stuff isn't water soluble and I don't want to take any risks clogging any drains.
Am I doing this right? I think next time It'll be more convenient to just burn the stuff.
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Tsjerk
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What would be the exact difference between pouring it down the drain after "neutralization" or without? If you run water down the drain, and sprinkle
ETN in it, what could be the worst that could happen?
Maybe it gets stuck somewhere, things get clogged and you have to use NaOH to unclog it?
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ManyInterests
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I am not comfortable pouring high explosives down the drain if there is any chance of explosion. I am aware that ETN is not like mercury fulminate or
organic peroxides, or picric acid (the disposal issue is why I opted out of making picric acid this time. Maybe I might have a go at it in the future,
but not now). But one thing about this hobby is also being responsible with it. I know I made stupid mistakes in the past, but none of them were able
to produce an explosion.
I know that the next time I make hydrazine sulfate. I will dispose of the remaining liquid directly into the drain without further processing. I made
too many mistakes with trying to 'neutralize' THAT mess (I had completely forgotten about the acids in the mixture, so when I added the hypochlorite
in it, I was in inadvertently creating chlorine gas).
But all in like, I want to be as safe and responsible as possible with this stuff. I figure that the acids and leftover hydrazine in a hydrazine
sulfate synthesis will be destroyed in the sewer system and water treatment, but I don't want to put something in the drain that can detonate at 8000
meters per second no matter how small the chances of detonation is.
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Tsjerk
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Okay, fair enough. I wouldn't go through the trouble but I thought about it: I guess the insoluble gunk you see is the sodium salt of erythritol, as I
think the reaction is the hydrolysis of the nitrate esters.
As there could still be a lot of ETN trapped in the blobs, maybe an acid hydrolysis would be better, with e.g. 1% HCl. That would give the soluble
erythritol as a product, giving you a visible endpoint for the reaction.
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ManyInterests
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That is what I was worried about and that's why I just scooped up as much of the bits that I could and put them in the trash.
Next time I make ETN I'll probably just burn them. Given the time it took for me to work that stuff out, I think that would been the quicker route.
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Tsjerk
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In the trash? I don't know how your trash system works but over here trash is collected in big vans and crushed with big steel crushers inside the
van, to fit more trash. Maybe your system is different, but as an alternative for flushing down the drain this would seem a very bad one
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