When is hydrogen gas explosive

Hydrogen used in the fuel cells is a very flammable gas and can cause fires and explosions if it is not handled properly. Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas.

Natural gas and propane are also odorless, but a sulfur-containing Mercaptan odorant is added to these gases so that a leak can be detected. At present, it is hard to tell if there is a hydrogen leak because it has no odor to it.

And concluded by strapping C4 plastic explosive to the side of the tank. As you can see from the figure, if your car is hit by an RPG there will be a hydrogen flame that will dissipate fairly quickly, but the tank will remain intact. So they strapped the rest to the side of the tank to see if they could truly get a full on tank explosion perhaps to simulate a high-level state sponsored terror attack. In this final case the biggest danger was shrapnel from the aluminum liner.

A final concern about hydrogen is that it is an emerging technology that you are probably unfamiliar with. Do we have enough experience to use this technology safely? There are currently over 25, hydrogen fuel cell powered forklifts operating around the world in shipping fulfillment centers the likes of Amazon, Walmart, FedEx, and more. Whether you knew it or not, your recent purchases were likely moved by a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle at some point during the routing to you.

We just never see and interact with these vehicles. Moreover, these systems are often operated by someone that may or may not have a high school diploma — no Ph. D necessary. Still not enough? There are over hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road around the US. Given how much the movies like to bash hydrogen fuel see Wonder Women, among many, many others , if there was a problem the media would have already informed us.

It would be easy pickings given our embedded bias against hydrogen. The key difference is that a BEV cannot rapidly dissipate the energy stored in batteries like a fueled vehicle can. This means that once a cell is damaged, neighboring cells in the battery can continue to catch fire or explode at a later time. This issue has led to BEVs requiring special storage and observation after a crash.

You can search for videos of first responders trying to put out a BEV that is on fire. The latest article I read is not clear whether BEVs have fewer post crash fires than gasoline vehicles.

This is not an admonishment of BEVs! The fact that this emerging technology is already on par or better than gasoline in terms of safety is remarkable.

It would be great to see a direct study comparing BEV safety with hydrogen fueled vehicles, once both technologies have had a chance to mature. We work with hydrogen every day in the lab.

Liquid hydrogen, on the other hand, is frozen hydrogen and if you were foolish enough to attempt to drink it — it would freeze your lips, mouth, and any other part of your body it came into contact with.

This would kill you. This is, of course, because it burns well and is an explosion hazard. Hydrogen cells in cars are designed not to explode and while they can catch fire, so can petrol or diesel cars as hydrocarbons burn pretty well too. Yes, hydrogen is super cheap and if it ever could be transported and stored cheaply and safely, it would make for an excellent alternative to gasoline.

Is Natural Gas Flammable? You May Be Suprised…. Is Helium Gas Flammable? Can it Explode? Skip to content As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no added cost to you. Table of Contents What Is Hydrogen? What Is It Used For? Is Hydrogen Flammable? Is It Explosive? Is Hydrogen A Fire Risk? Can Hydrogen Spontaneously Combust?