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Magnesium Chip Disposal

Archer120x

Cast Iron
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Location
Davis Junction, Illinois
My friend started doing magnesium work, but didn't think about chip disposal. He tried a couple of the local scrap yards, but they won't take them. Anybody else have issues with magnesium disposal, or have a place to contact? He is next to Rockford Il.
Thanks,
Tony
 
My friend started doing magnesium work, but didn't think about chip disposal. He tried a couple of the local scrap yards, but they won't take them. Anybody else have issues with magnesium disposal, or have a place to contact? He is next to Rockford Il.
Thanks,
Tony

What volume are we talking? Some people enjoy burning them.
 
Package them and sell them on eBay to crafty types for 20X scrap value.
Seriously.

You can't ship them through the US Mail, or if you try, use a false address...

Seriously, unless it's a LOT, it is best to safely burn them. Or talk to your local Fire Dept about handing them over, they can do fire suppression training with them.

And all Fire personnel are pyros anyway, right??

Edit: Your buddy should be storing them in metal 5gal cans until he can dispose of them, in a dry area (a sand pit is best), away from buildings and other structures. A cheap metal shed with a tarp over the roof to ensure water can't get through will help.
 
Machining Magnesium is extremely dangerous.

If you are not set-up properly to do this work... with 100% certainly, I will assure you, that your building will turn to ashes.
 
Run the magnesium at the feeds and speeds of 7075 aluminum and you will be just fine, ignore the above poster.
 
This is false.

Hey stiff,
If you need Mag work that badly, you are literally TOAST.


Find another machining strategy stiff.

Does your business insurer, know what you are cutting?

I will not respond to your reply.
 
Hey stiff,
If you need Mag work that badly, you are literally TOAST.


Find another machining strategy stiff.

Does your business insurer, know what you are cutting?

I will not respond to your reply.

Have you ever ran magnesium? The fear of it is way over blown.
 
Have you ever ran magnesium? The fear of it is way over blown.

I've done a modest amount of complicated Mag for space use. Did have one small fire, but that was controlled due to frequent sequestering of the chips that were generated, so not much available to burn.

You should respect the materials, but hell, a Ti fire is worse, so any of these materials just require thinking and paying attention to process.
 
Have you ever ran magnesium? The fear of it is way over blown.

you have by your own statement only run magnesium "a couple of times"...say no more.


machining small amount of magnesium isn't "extremely dangerous" by its self, however, but storing any quantity of magnesium chips IS. anyone who has ignited magnesium foil, swarf or dust knows this VERY VERY well.
 
We had a college science professor and a high school science teacher contact us once at a shop.
They asked us to contact them if we ever had surplus\ scraps of magnesium. They burned and did projects with it.
You might contact some of these schools and ask.
They might even credit you for a donation.
 
you have by your own statement only run magnesium "a couple of times"...say no more.


machining small amount of magnesium isn't "extremely dangerous" by its self, however, but storing any quantity of magnesium chips IS. anyone who has ignited magnesium foil, swarf or dust knows this VERY VERY well.

I tried setting the chips on fire with one of those long stemmed lighters numerous times and could not do it.
I made a couple thousand parts for paint ball guns on an 8 axis Swiss, drilling, milling and turning most of the stock away, never any issues. I definitely did not let many chips collect in the chip pan and stored them outside. I just slowly stirred them into the chips that did not get recycled and threw them in the dumpster in heavy trash bags.
 
You should respect the materials, but hell, a Ti fire is worse, so any of these materials just require thinking and paying attention to process.

I know that "Titanium" is flamable, but how about when alloyed? I know that Ti6Al4V is the most common - Is it just as flammable as commercially pure Ti?
 
A friend of mine works for the city water dept. Every once in a while he'll come across a chuck of magnesium use as a sacrificial anode in the water connections. He tosses it in the bonfire and everyone oohs and aaahs.
 
I tried setting the chips on fire with one of those long stemmed lighters numerous times and could not do it.
I made a couple thousand parts for paint ball guns on an 8 axis Swiss, drilling, milling and turning most of the stock away, never any issues. I definitely did not let many chips collect in the chip pan and stored them outside. I just slowly stirred them into the chips that did not get recycled and threw them in the dumpster in heavy trash bags.

those lighters are pretty low energy, and ease of ignition depends on what the chips are coated with, and their surface area/mass ratio. a coating of coolant residue will retard ignition, as will an already oxidized surface.

do store outside, but mixing with other chips, not so sure that's a good idea.
 
I don't know the proper way to dispose of them but I do know how not to dispose of them. When I was a young apprentice I machined some magnesium. One of the old guys told me that it would burn and I should try it so I brought a small envelope of chips home and layed the on the apron in front of my shop and set them on fire. A short time later I heard a loud bang and it was the concrete under the fire exploding. The crater is still there to this day something like 40 years later. It's about the size of a half dollar.

One of my other co workers had a shop of his own and did some magnesium machining. He was on a river in a residential area but he had a magnesium fire. From what I heard the fire put some nasty smoke out on the river and the FD evacuated people from other homes on the river. They told him that he needed to shut down and he told them that he would but kept running anyway. A few years later he had another fire and pretty much the same thing happened but this time they made sure that he was shut down. Something about wealthy people living on the river not liking to have to evacuate their homes.
 
I know that "Titanium" is flamable, but how about when alloyed? I know that Ti6Al4V is the most common - Is it just as flammable as commercially pure Ti?

Yes, just about. I'm not sure there's a commercial Ti alloy that isn't flammable with exposure to an ignition source.

https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1860.pdf

Page 3 of 6 has the fire hazards. "Amusingly", Ti powder (and chips) will burn not just in air, but in a Co2 or N environment too. I guess it's already carrying enough oxygen in the outer (di)oxide layer...
 








 
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