Stability of ether

Bioflex · Jul 11, 2023

I purchased some wet plate supplies two years ago and haven’t used them since. I have two canisters of ether, one opened and resealed. Should I be concerned about the stability of these chemicals? Thank you.

retina_restoration · Jul 11, 2023

18percentgrey said:
I purchased some wet plate supplies two years ago and haven’t used them since. I have two canisters of ether, one opened and resealed. Should I be concerned about the stability of these chemicals? Thank you.

Yes, you should.
The condition of your Ether depends on how its been stored. Has it been kept cool?
Take a look at the opened bottle: has it turned pink - even slightly tinted? If so, its compromised and cannot be used.

Bioflex · Jul 11, 2023

Unfortunately they have been stored in my garage/darkroom, which gets hot. How do I dispose responsibly?

mshchem · Jul 11, 2023

My experience with diethyl ether was decades ago. We used it in an analytical laboratory. Ours came in small metal cans. Exposure to light and air can produce peroxides that can detonate.

I don't know how to dispose of safely. Call someone.

nmp · Jul 11, 2023

18percentgrey said:
Unfortunately they have been stored in my garage/darkroom, which gets hot. How do I dispose responsibly?

If they have formed peroxides, even moving it is dangerous - recommend calling your local hazardous disposal office and ask for pickup.

retina_restoration · Jul 11, 2023

Agreed: you need to call your local hazardous materials agency and describe the problem. It may have formed peroxides which makes it extremely dangerous to handle.

Two23 · Jul 11, 2023

I mix 10% ethanol with ether when I receive it.

Maris · Jul 11, 2023

Diethyl ether is scary stuff. Back in my analytical chemistry days the laboratory supply of diethyl ether was stored in glass bottles over pieces of bright copper mesh which inhibited peroxide production. Unfortunately the copper would not "cure" a pre-existing peroxide problem. If peroxides were suspected the test was to add a drop of potassium iodide in water to an ether sample. Any yellow colour developed was tested with starch solution which turned blue confirming free iodide which in turn confirmed the presence of peroxides. (C2-H5)2-O is worth fearing.

BJ68 · Jul 12, 2023

nmp said:
If they have formed peroxides, even moving it is dangerous - recommend calling your local hazardous disposal office and ask for pickup.

That is only half true....if there is no white sediment, than only evaporation and concentration of the peroxides e.g. in a rotary evaporator is a problem.
If there is white sediment which means the peroxide concentration in the ether is so high, that the stuff crystallizes out, then do not move...

For diethyl ether this stuff is stabilized with BHT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butylated_hydroxytoluene and should be stable. There are other "ethers" which are more prone to build peroxide e.g. Diisopropyl ether
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diisopropyl_ether#Safety

With your opened canister....I would open it carefully and look if the liquid is clear and no sediment is on the ground or better obtain Peroxide test strips and test it and important avoid that the ether is evaporating out of the canister, because than you can run into the first above scenario, where you get crystallized peroxides through the evaporation.

bj68

Stability of ether

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