Re: Disposing of sodium metal - burn it?


<pomerado@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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lucasea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
<mmzax@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Thanks to all who made suggestions re. the disposal of 300g of sodium
metal (apart from the guy who said dessolve it in NaCL solution).

I've had another suggestion from someone else - burn it. Not having
burnt sodium before, I'd like to check with you first. If sodium is
burnt, say on a camp fire, does it burn reasonably gently? Is this a
safe way of disposing of it?

No, it is not--it is a very dangerous thing to do. It is much more
reactive
than Mg, which burns extremely hot, and has the added bonus that it
melts,
which spreads the flames and exposes even more surface area to the air.
Almost no fire extinguishers work on it--not water, not CO2, not foam,
and
not halon.

Why won't a halon extinguisher work? Does the hot sodium break down
the halocarbons?

Yes. I don't even think it especially takes hot sodium. Far less reactive
metals like Mg react, sometimes violently, with polyhalogenated organics.

Eric Lucas


.

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