enertech Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 (edited) Hello friends! I have just installed a mixing vessel in which I use Diethyl Ether for mixing and washing an organic powder material. After washing/mixing for a few minutes I don't need to filter it and just want to evaporate the ether. The quantity of Ether in one batch is around 25 to 30 liters. When I start the mixer with slow rpm, the ether gets vaporize itself and I have installed an exhaust pipe from the top of mixer for travelling ether vapors. My product economics allow me to evaporate the ether instead of collecting/condensing its vapors for re-use. In simple words, I don't need the recycled ether at the end of my mixing process and just want to release its vapors in air safely. The problem is, still I am afraid of going those vapors directly in air and causing any fire/explosion nearby..... So, can any one please suggest me a suitable solution to scrub or decompose these ether vapors so that it could not create any harm when released in air? It's very serious problem for me, please try to help me out...... Edited March 14, 2014 by enertech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enthalpy Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Why shouldn't you burn the diethyl ether? The flame products are clean. It depends on the other compounds in your ether. Or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enertech Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 The vapors are pure Diethyl Ether only. But to burn it?! I am afraid about the backfire/explosion in the pipeline/vessel! How to do it safely? Can you give some technical references and elaborate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 This isn't a simple issue. You really need to consult an expert in the field of ventilation engineering, rather than a web site. A better answer would be to distill off the ether, capture it, and reuse it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enthalpy Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Tactful answer, I appreciate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I agree with John: distillation and recovery of the ether is much safer than releasing it into the atmosphere. If you don't want to reuse it, you can always contact a company that takes care of chemical waste to pick it up. You should look up the MSDS (material safety data sheet) of ether. Also, check the Lower explosion limit (according to one source, it is 1.9% by volume in air - please doublecheck) and Upper explosion limit. Also, there is probably a law regarding the emission of volatile organic compounds. So, simply blowing it into the air may violate your local law. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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