[skyjumper]

I have a old glass bottle filled with 12.5 molar NaOH (It's been sitting in my base cabinet for about 10 years at least) and I have tried everything to get it out (soaking it inverted in almost boiling water overnight, silicon, taking a hammer to the cap to knock it out, and lastly heating the glass around the stopper with a terril burner) The last point, heating it with a burner caused the stopper to fracture, leaving about 1/4 of the stopper wedged in there. Now I want to dispose of the bottle, but obviously leaving 12.5 molar NaOH in the trash in a container that could burst at any time is a bad idea, so I am looking to find other options.

My instructor wants me to hit it with a hammer. I don't like this idea (its a thick pyrex container from yesteryear anyway)

[Borek]

It takes an idiot to use glass stopper in a bottle with concentrated NaOH, but that's not your fault.

Instructor idea is not bad - just put the bottle in a towel, so that glass will stay inside.

[skyjumper]

Im thinking of taking one of those glass/ tile cutters and scoring around the bottle neck, then breaking it off with a hammer. cleaner.

[Borek]

Waste of time, you are going to throw it away.

[typhoon2028]

trash it

[skyjumper]

Knocked it with a hammer. was able to chip away around the neck, and knock out the stopper. Neutralized with 6m HCl and disposed of.   

[nj_bartel]

Surprised you didn't boil the solution.  Pretty concentrated neutralization acid.

[skyjumper]

It got fairly hot but I dumped a large excess into the container, (about a liter, a bottle I keep on hand) then neutralized the acid with bicarbonate. It did start to steam a little, and I did get the smell of rotten eggs (sulfur dioxide? from where?)

[nj_bartel]

HCl smells kinda like rotten eggs to me.