DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional chemist. This is my attempt to answer to the best of my knowledge to help others. If you have any suggestions please comment so no mistakes are made.
Sadly my iOpener sprung a leak as a result of over-vigorous microwaving. Fortunately I put it on a plate which captured the liquid. The liquid was oily, and was concerned about contaminating the sewage or contributing to the construction of fat bergs. No disposal instructions are provided by iFixit nor is there information about the contents of the liquid.
I decided to do some simple tests on the liquid. Firstly, looking at the liquid you can see it is a clear and colourless liquid. It is also slightly more viscous than water when poured. Secondly, smell. It is odourless. Third is density. Measuring mass that I captured (105g±2g) and volume (80ml±6ml) gives a density of 1.3±0.1 g/mol. Looking at a list of common fluids (thanks to engineeringtoolbox.com) suggests a. b. dichloroethene, c. dichloromethane, d. glycerol, e. dichlorodifluoromethane, or g. sugar solution. a, b and d are not odourless and also dichlorofluoromethane, better known as a CFC, is a ozone-damaging gas which I doubt iFixit would put in a bag and sell. Sugar solution is not oily. This leaves glycerol which is also sweet tasting and oily.
Glycerol is non-toxic and can be disposed of in anaerobic digesters*and even in waste water in small amounts**. It is even used in foods. Be careful as it can be contaminated with other compounds so probably best not to add to your next liquor.
So if you need to dispose of your iOpener it looks to me (based on A-level chemistry) you can just pour any liquid down the drain in small quantities, add it to your food waste (if you put some absorbamt material in). Or you can use it for a project, taking inspiration from the applications listed on Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol.
* *http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/719605551/m/60510636
* **https://www.oneida-boces.org/cms/lib/NY01914080/Centricity/Domain/65/ChemicalSafetyData_Glycerol_All.pdf
DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional chemist. This is my attempt to answer to the best of my knowledge to help others. If you have any suggestions please comment so no mistakes are made.
Sadly my iOpener sprung a leak as a result of over-vigorous microwaving. Fortunately I put it on a plate which captured the liquid. The liquid was oily, and was concerned about contaminating the sewage or contributing to the construction of fat bergs. No disposal instructions are provided by iFixit nor is there information about the contents of the liquid.
I decided to do some simple tests on the liquid. Firstly, looking at the liquid you can see it is a clear and colourless liquid. It is also slightly more viscous than water when poured. Secondly, smell. It is odourless. Third is density. Measuring mass that I captured (105g±2g) and volume (80ml±6ml) gives a density of 1.3±0.1 g/mol. Looking at a list of common fluids (thanks to engineeringtoolbox.com) suggests a. b. dichloroethene, c. dichloromethane, d. glycerol, e. dichlorodifluoromethane, or g. sugar solution. a, b and d are not odourless and also dichlorofluoromethane, better known as a CFC, is a ozone-damaging gas which I doubt iFixit would put in a bag and sell. Sugar solution is not oily. This leaves glycerol which is also sweet tasting and oily.
Glycerol is non-toxic and can be disposed of in anaerobic digesters*and even in waste water in small amounts**. It is even used in foods. Be careful as it can be contaminated with other compounds so probably best not to add to your next liquor.
So if you need to dispose of your iOpener it looks to me (based on A-level chemistry) you can just pour any liquid down the drain in small quantities, add it to your food waste (if you put some absorbamt material in). Or you can use it for a project, taking inspiration from the applications listed on Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol.
* *http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/719605551/m/60510636
* **https://www.oneida-boces.org/cms/lib/NY01914080/Centricity/Domain/65/ChemicalSafetyData_Glycerol_All.pdf
