Reuse H202 containers?

Question for the chemists here.

I have a relatively restricted space for storing liquid chemistry. I've come upon some plastic bottles that currently contain 3% U.S.P. Hydrogen Peroxide that appear rugged, have good caps and are an ideal size for what I need. They are marked with recycling container code "2". Here are my questions:

1) Would it be terribly unwise to use these for storing working or stock solutions of Black & White chemistry?

2) I was thinking that they would be perfect for film strength fixer. Would they be safe/work?

3) I was also wondering about toners. Would they be safe/work, and if so with which ones (Selenium, Sepia?)?

4) Would a thorough rinsing be enough to make them usable?

5) Would they be more appropriate for some chemistry than others? If so, which ones?

Thanks for your help.

Matt

I can't see any reason why they shouldn't be perfectly OK. I use very strong plastic 2.5 litre bottles for my Dev & Fix that used to contain concentrated Hydrochloric(translucent) or Nitric acid (black).

The secret is to purge the bottles well with hot water, I also put some old print developer in the black bottles, and leave it for 24 hrs or so just to make sure. I've never had a problem with these battles.

H2O2 is far easier to purge, and shouldn't cause any problems at all. So you should be able to re-use them for all your chemicals. I try to use black bottles to store developer stock solutions, mainly because I use developers like Xtol with replenishment so it makers more sense.

Ian

I think 1's are better than 2's but opaque containers probably more than make up for the difference
I think water bottles are the best if can store in the dark.
I've found a few old 5 gallon water jugs that are type 7 ..haven't bothered with those yet but I will soon enough and will be sure to add Saran wrap to the lid when I do.
I stockpile old liquor and beer bottles ..especially beer bottles. Cat litter containers, too. Haven't saved Clorox bottles.

These are dark brown, and are short and squat, and are nominally 1 US quart (946 ml) in size. While 1 liter would be better, I can make these work.

By the way, my wife swears about the stain (including red wine) removing qualities of Hydrogen Peroxide in the laundry .

Thanks for your help.

Matt

MattKing said:

These are dark brown, and are short and squat, and are nominally 1 US quart (946 ml) in size. While 1 liter would be better, I can make these work.

By the way, my wife awears about the stain (including red wine) removing qualities about Hydrogen Peroxide in the laundry .

Thanks for your help.

Matt

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I have found that the 1 qt. plastic milk bottles hold 1 liter. Any difference, anything that doesn't fit wouldn't matter anyway. It's too small to matter.

High heat and/or alkaline pH will facilitate breakdown of H2O2.

Hello Matt,
you should check whether there is a very little hole in the screw-cap of the H2O2 container. Since H2O2 can decompose slowly into water and oxygen this hole shall prevent a pressure in the container. For storage of developers I would close this hole.

Thanks everone

Matt

MattKing said:

These are dark brown, and are short and squat, and are nominally 1 US quart (946 ml) in size. While 1 liter would be better, I can make these work.

By the way, my wife swears about the stain (including red wine) removing qualities of Hydrogen Peroxide in the laundry .

Thanks for your help.

Matt

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Matt - It's no wonder she'd swear by H2O2 - all of the non-clorine bleaches and that Oxyclean stuff the obnoxious twit with the squeeky voice advertises on TV all contain peroxide to one degree or another.

As far as regular household bleach is concerned, it's real name is sodium hypochlorite - check out the old photography chemistry books and you should find it listed rather prominently.

Cheers

H_2O_2 decomposes into water and oxygen very easily. I'd just rinse it out with some distilled water.

I have used emptied hydrogen peroxide bottles for years to store XTOL, fixer, selenium toner, etc., witout noticing a problem yet.

Thank you everyone!

Matt

Doug Webb said:

I have used emptied hydrogen peroxide bottles for years to store XTOL, fixer, selenium toner, etc., witout noticing a problem yet.

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Well, that may be and I don't doubt you. These peroxide bottle are made of HDPE, which is not the best material around for developer storage. It will work OK for fixers and other chemistry that does not easily oxidize. A better solution are PET or PETE bottles, the kind in which soda pop and bottled water are sold. These generally are less gas permeable and have better closures. The soda pop bottles are designed to contain pressurized gas so that the contents won't go flat. Glass is best in that regard, but is heavy, fragile, and slippery when wet. I don't find that the advantages of glass bottles outweigh the disadvantages. My developers keep for at least 6 months in the PET bottles. Incidentally, many of the plastic chemical storage bottles sold in camera stores are identical to these H2O2 bottles. Brown bottles can be overkill. All of my chemistry is stored in a couple of crates in a dark corner of the basement. Haven't had a problem yet. Most of the stuff, and all the commonly used developers and fixers, are not terribly light sensitive.