Disposing used FeCL

Lisandro_P · 6th July 2003, 04:47 AM

What's the best way to deal with this stuff after etching a PCB? I'm about to etch 3 boards and i have realized i've no idea what to do with the chemical later, other than throwing it in the garden...

till · 6th July 2003, 10:04 AM

better not in the garden...Someone may want to grow something to eat there some day. Here they collect stuff like that.

i don´t think its much problem with the FeCl, but with the Cu.

I think your FeCl will be about pH2. I would try to make it pH7 before getting rid of it. So the metals and salt will fell out and the liquid is essentially water. Mix it with NaOH or something with a pH > 7 like CaOH or cement

(be carefull)

Lisandro_P · 6th July 2003, 10:23 AM

Something that can be found in the kitchen?

I always hated chemistry...

till · 6th July 2003, 10:30 AM

****, i don´t know what is found in a kitchen with high pH. everything will be more expensive than cement.

Brian Donaldson · 6th July 2003, 01:02 PM

Baking soda

Ron E · 6th July 2003, 03:29 PM

http://www.inchem.com.ph/fecl3.htm

The page above discusses the uses of FeCL3
It is actually used as a water treatment agent.

It shouldn't harm anything to pour it down the drain, as long as it is diluted (a lot). You don't want to etch your pipes

Using baking soda will make CO2 - bubbles and foam - ever mix baking soda and vinegar? NaOH - drain cleaner (small white pellets) sometimes has small bits of metal in it. Reactions like this make large amounts of heat in high concentrations, and could be a splashing chemical burn hazard.

l'd think the safest thing would be to dilute it a lot (100's:1) and pour it down the drain....but I've never tried it.

till · 6th July 2003, 03:34 PM

the bad thing isn´t the Fe, its the Cu. It is very toxic as ion. So i think its the better idea to let it fall out in neutral solution and put the liquid and the solid componet separately away.

JOE DIRT® · 6th July 2003, 04:07 PM

water dilution is the best but I would not pour it down the drain as most plumbing is abs pipe....I have a 5 gallon pail and take my chemicals to the landfill site where they dispose of it

exurbia · 6th July 2003, 04:45 PM

i found that it worked wonders on my neighbours roses

his dog fouled my lawn his roses croaked

Lisandro_P · 6th July 2003, 11:01 PM

That's what i was thinking... i'll just pour all the used stuff togheter, dilute it a lot and just toss it away somewhere far from my house

I wouldn't feel safe tossing that down the drain, after seeing what it does to most metals.

6th July 2003, 04:47 AM	#1
Lisandro_P diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Argentina	Disposing used FeCL What's the best way to deal with this stuff after etching a PCB? I'm about to etch 3 boards and i have realized i've no idea what to do with the chemical later, other than throwing it in the garden...

6th July 2003, 03:29 PM	#6
Ron E diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA, MN	http://www.inchem.com.ph/fecl3.htm The page above discusses the uses of FeCL3 It is actually used as a water treatment agent. It shouldn't harm anything to pour it down the drain, as long as it is diluted (a lot). You don't want to etch your pipes Using baking soda will make CO2 - bubbles and foam - ever mix baking soda and vinegar? NaOH - drain cleaner (small white pellets) sometimes has small bits of metal in it. Reactions like this make large amounts of heat in high concentrations, and could be a splashing chemical burn hazard. l'd think the safest thing would be to dilute it a lot (100's:1) and pour it down the drain....but I've never tried it. __________________ Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works. --Carl Sagan Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. --Carl Sagan

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6th July 2003, 10:04 AM	#2
till Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Germany, Clausthal	better not in the garden...Someone may want to grow something to eat there some day. Here they collect stuff like that. i don´t think its much problem with the FeCl, but with the Cu. I think your FeCl will be about pH2. I would try to make it pH7 before getting rid of it. So the metals and salt will fell out and the liquid is essentially water. Mix it with NaOH or something with a pH > 7 like CaOH or cement (be carefull)

6th July 2003, 10:23 AM	#3
Lisandro_P diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Argentina	Something that can be found in the kitchen? I always hated chemistry...

6th July 2003, 10:30 AM	#4
till Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Germany, Clausthal	****, i don´t know what is found in a kitchen with high pH. everything will be more expensive than cement.

6th July 2003, 01:02 PM	#5
Brian Donaldson diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Texas, Love it or leave it	Baking soda

6th July 2003, 03:34 PM	#7
till Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Germany, Clausthal	the bad thing isn´t the Fe, its the Cu. It is very toxic as ion. So i think its the better idea to let it fall out in neutral solution and put the liquid and the solid componet separately away.

6th July 2003, 04:07 PM	#8
JOE DIRT® diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Brantford, ON	water dilution is the best but I would not pour it down the drain as most plumbing is abs pipe....I have a 5 gallon pail and take my chemicals to the landfill site where they dispose of it

6th July 2003, 04:45 PM	#9
exurbia diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Perth	i found that it worked wonders on my neighbours roses his dog fouled my lawn his roses croaked

6th July 2003, 11:01 PM	#10
Lisandro_P diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Argentina	That's what i was thinking... i'll just pour all the used stuff togheter, dilute it a lot and just toss it away somewhere far from my house I wouldn't feel safe tossing that down the drain, after seeing what it does to most metals.

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