[vega]

Hi everyone,

I need help to see how to properly dispose of some diethyl ether.

I have in my photo lab a bottle of 500ml of diethyl ether bought exactly 2 years ago, that I used for making ambrotype photos.
They mentioned that it had to be used in the 3 months following the purchase.

After 3 months of using, I instead decided to keep it and to dissolve it half with alcool, as I heard it keeps peroxydes away. It always stayed in a fridge.

Now I would like to get rid of it. Do you think if there is a risk to manipulate it now? Any tips on how to proceed ?

Thanks. Cheers

[vega]

Up! Didn't found that much informations about that.
Does anyone have tips?

[Corribus]

As they age, diethyl ethers and other ethers form dangerous organic peroxides, so it is usually advise to get rid of them after six months. The peroxides are shock sensitive explosives and have been known to detonate even by just twisting the bottle cap. In combination with ethers, which are themselves quite flammable, it is not a great combination.

After 3 months, the risk is probably not great of some catastrophic event as long as you have stored it properly. But, if you no longer have use for this chemical, I would still dispose of it. You may test for peroxide content with an iodine assay. If this is a home use chemical, you may contact your local hazardous waste disposal organization.