Ester Disposal

[carol58a]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me how to dispose of Esters? We have conflicting information - one says down sink to sewer and another says soak with perlite or paper. Please help.
thanks,
carol58a.

[Judy R]

I always put them in the hydrocarbon waste bottle.I know purists will say that is not strickly correct however given their preparation it is better then the sink.

[lada]

Not the sink!
I always put it in an organic waste, but if it is only smal amount, you can absorb it on perlite
Lada

[J]

Our chemistry teacher always requests the organic waste bottle and she takes care of the waste and returns the bottle.

[carol58a]

Thankyou all so much. We will use an organic waste bottle, as it was what we were thinking. We thought down the sink was wrong - would you believe that came from the DET website. It is nice to have our thoughts confirmed.

Thanks again for you help.
Carol

[lada]

Ethers are different chemicals to esters. Eg of an ester is nail polish removal. I thought ethers are ban from schools.
lada

[Labbie]

well done Lada, so glad you picked that up, thank you

Sorry folks I have deleted that post.

[Labbie]

OK got it right this time.

taken from Appendix E CSIS Disposal of Waste Chemicals page 19

23 Hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketomes, esters, Heteracyclics

Warning
Flammable, can be toxic by inhalation

Wear
Nitrile gloves, safety glasses and laboratory coat. Work in a well ventilated area.

CLean up and disposal

* For small liquid quantities (<50ml.)
Absorb onto paper towel and allow to evaporate in a fume cupbaord. Once the chemical has evaporated the paper towel should be disposed to garbage.

* For larger liquid quantities (>50ml.)
Absorb spill onto vermiculite, perlite or cat litter. Mix scoop into a container, seal and store until collection by licensed waste contractor.

* Solid, Sweep onto paper and place in garbage.

Containers of hydrocarbon, alcohol, ketone, esters, and heterocyclics should be stored safely until collection by a licensed waste contractor. almost the same as 20 Ethers.

[lada]

Yep, you are right, very similar to ethers, as far as clean up and disposal,
Have a nice day, Lada