Before anyone follows the cleaning procedure posted by Tilak, please note some issues.
First, nitric acid is indeed excellent at removing mercury by oxidizing it. However, now you have liquid waste to deal with. If the original glass it to be thrown away, it might be best to seal up and throw away the glassware rather than generating highly corrosive mercury containing liquid wastes.
Second, the procedure to make mercury fulminate, a contact explosive used for detonators, is:
Mercury(II) fulminate is prepared by dissolving mercury in nitric acid and adding ethanol to the solution.
Therefore, organic contaminants must be avoided after dissolving mercury with nitric acid.
Best,
Craig
Craig A. Merlic
Professor of Chemistry, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Executive Director, UC Center for Laboratory Safety
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569
Voice: 310-825-5466
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of TILAK CHANDRA <0000058f112ac338-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Date: Monday, April 18, 2022 at 2:57 PM
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Mercury Diffusion Pump
Here is a procedure:
Remove the pump from the line.
Empty out the mercury and dispose of this mercury properly.
Use a 6 molar nitric acid solution and let sit in the glassware until the mercury residue is removed*.
Dispose of the Nitric acid like mercury waste. Or chemically separate the Nitric from mercury?
Rinse the glassware with water and dispose.
Ref. The Laboratory Companion - A Practical Gude to Materials, Equipment, and Technique, by Gary Coyne.
Good luck.
Tilak
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Todd Melgreen <tmelgreen**At_Symbol_Here**WILLAMETTE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2022 3:59 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Mercury Diffusion Pump
Hello All-
I was hoping that someone on this e-mail list may have some answers to a few questions regarding a mercury diffusion pump.
We would like to remove the mercury from the diffusion pump. Once the mercury is removed we would like to dispose of the remaining glass diffusion pump properly, I am wondering if anyone has any experience or has attempted to do this previously that we could learn from.
Questions are:
What is the easiest way to remove the mercury from the diffusion pump?
Are there vendors who deal with disposing of mercury contaminated glass?
I appreciate any insight or help that can be provided. Thanks. I do have photos of the pump but they can't be sent to this list serve. So if seeing these would help you please email me directly and I can send them your way. Thanks again for your help in advance?
Regards,
Todd A. Melgreen, ASP
Chemical Hygiene Officer & Chemistry Lab/Stockroom Manager
Chemistry Department
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
office: Collins 303 ext#6833
stockroom: Olin 411 ext#6734
phone: 503-370-6833
cell phone: 541-760-5780
Pronouns: He/Him/His
I respectfully acknowledge that Willamette University was built on the land of the Kalapuya, who today are represented by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, whose relationship with this land continues to this day. I am grateful to the land itself, to those who have stewarded it for generations, and for the opportunity to study, learn, work, and be in community on this land. I acknowledge that the University's history, like many others, is fundamentally tied to the first colonial developments in the Willamette Valley. I respectfully acknowledge and honor past, present, and future Indigenous students of Willamette.
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