
THE HOMEMADE HYDROGEN REPORT

COPYRIGHT 1984 THE TELEFLITE CORPORATION

For the purposes of filling and launching small balloons, plastic trash
bags, and other lighter than air devices it is possible to produce homemade
hydrogen gas quickly, simply, and inexpensively from common materials and
supplies you'll find around the house or at the local supermarket.

When the metal, aluminum, comes into contact with a solution of sodium
hydroxide (commonly called "LYE") and water, a rapid chemical reaction
occurs that results in the formation of sodium aluminate and free hydrogen
gas according to the following chemical equation:

2AI + 2NaOH + 2H20 = 2NaAlO2 + 3H2 + HEAT

FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE NOTE THE LAST TERM OH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE
EQUATION! The chemical reaction in question generates enough heat to boil
the water in the immediate  vicinity where the reaction is occurring. If
you allow the reaction to proceed too rapidly, the container will become
too hot to touch, COULD SHUTTER, or could boll over, splattering HOT,
CAUSTIC LYE solution all over you and the chosen work area.

LYE CAN CAUSE SEVERE CHEMICAL BURNS TO THE SKIN AND EYES, and should an
accident  occur, you should IMMEDIATELY flood the affected parts of the
body with cool water and KEEP RINSING until ALL TRACES of the caustic
solution have been washed away.  All commercially marketed containers of
lye display a caution and warning label, and you should READ, UNDERSTAND,
and FOLLOW the advice given on these labels before proceeding.

Hydrogen gas is itself EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE! W WOT SMOKE IN THE PRESENCE OF
HYDROGEN GAS! It was hydrogen that exploded and brought down the
Hindenburg. The following procedures should NEVER be attempted indoors.
Find a picnic table or a suitable spot in the back yard and keep a garden
hose or bucket of water nearby as a safety precaution for use in the event
of a chemical burn. ONLY when you have read and understood the above safety
precautions should you proceed with the following instructions.

We'll discuss the quickest, cheapest, and simplest method first. If you
don't already have them, go to the supermarket and purchase the following
items (See Figure 1).

ONE small container of LYE
ONE empty GLASS soda pop bottle (one quart capacity)
<OR>
ONE "fifth" or one "litre" of Champagne (the heavy thick bottle
makes a safer, more durable hydrogen generator)
ONE roll of the cheapest aluminum foil you can find
ONE package of LARGE toy balloons

At the time of this printing lye could be purchased in twelve ounce plastic
containers for about a dollar.  Whatever bottle you choose for a hydrogen
generator must WOT be made of plastic. The heat generated during the
chemical reaction will soften and melt the more popular plastic ones.
Champagne bottles are best (enjoy the champagne and save the bottle for
even loftier purposes).

Since the solution of lye and water will dissolve any organic matter, you
DON'T need clean, new aluminum foil. You can save the greasy, useless
looking stuff from your last roast turkey or Bar-B-que and use that. ANY
used kitchen aluminum foil or pie pans will work, and you DON'T have to
wash them before use.

Buy the LARGE size toy balloons. You fill each one by stretching it over
the neck of your pop bottle hydrogen generator, and the smaller balloons
have such SMALL necks that they will usually tear when you attempt to do
this. Besides, as we all know, bigger balloons are better balloons, and the
larger ones are much more fun to fly.

Wash out your empty pop or champagne bottle and fill it about HALF FULL
with TWO CUPS of clean tap water (See Figure 2). The LYE that you purchase
at the supermarket will come in the form of crystals, flakes, or little
beads. Measure out 1-1/2 tablespoons of LYE; use plastic measuring spoons
NOT aluminum ones), and pour it through the neck of the bottle into the
water via a plastic kitchen funnel (See Figure 3). Try to avoid letting any
of the LYE stick to the inside of the bottle neck, and if it does, rinse it
on down with a little extra water.

Reach into the bottle with a stick (See Figure 4) and stir the solution
until the lye is thoroughly dissolved. Tear about one and one half square
feet of aluminum foil into two pieces and rumple each one with your hands
into a rough pellet shape (See Figure 5) small enough to fit through the
bottle neck, open your package of balloons, and get ready for action.

Drop both aluminum pellets into the bottle (See Figure 6), and stretch a
balloon over the bottle neck (See Figure 7). Chemical reactions proceed
more rapidly at higher temperatures, and since the solution is cold, the
reaction will begin slowly. The aluminum pellets will fizz ,just like
Alka-Seltzer tablets, and the hydrogen gas generated will buoy them up in
the water. They will float on the surface, and since heat rises also, the
heat generated by the reaction will also remain on the surface, rapidly
increasing the temperature in the immediate area where the reaction is
occurring.

As the temperature rises, so will the reaction rate, and in a matter of one
minute or so things should be cooking right along  (See Figure 8). Be
careful about touching the bottle while the reaction is taking place. The
glass in the area of the reaction will be quite hot to the touch, and as we
stated before, the heat COULD be enough to cause a thin glass bottle to
crack. It is best to simply stand back and watch what's going on from a
safe distance. In a matter of five minutes or so, your balloon will be full
(See Figure g), and you can reach over and pinch its neck between the thumb
and forefinger of one hand. With the other, carefully release the rolled
edge of the balloon nipple from the bottle neck, and tie it as you would
any normal balloon. It's lighter than air now, and if you release it into
the atmosphere, it will continue to rise until the hydrogen in the balloon
expands enough to cause the balloon to burst.

Once the aluminum pellets are consumed you can add more. Since the solution
is already hot, the new reaction will begin immediately. If the reaction
seems too slow to suit your tastes, add either more aluminum or more lye.
If the reaction proceeds too fast, cut back on each of the two reaction
components.

As the lye in the solution gets used up, the sodium aluminate combines with
the lye remaining in the solution and any soap created by the reaction of
the lye with any grease or organic matter on the dirty aluminum foil and
forms a slimy, slippery "GOO". This "GOO" can form HOT, slimy bubbles that
may fill the top half of the bottle and work their way up into the balloon
itself.

These bubbles contain any caustic components remaining in the lye solution
and can cause chemical burns to the skin and eyes. When your hydrogen
generator begins to behave in this way, it is best to empty out the
contents and start over with clean water and fresh ingredients.

A nine inch diameter balloon can be filled in about five minutes using this
apparatus. Enough aluminum can be placed in the solution to generate the
required amount of gas at an acceptable reaction rate without having to
remove the balloon to add more aluminum.

A sixteen inch balloon can be filled in about 20 minutes, but you'll have
to add fresh aluminum three or four times during the process, and removing
and replacing the balloon without losing the gas can get a little tricky.
To conveniently fill larger balloons you should make yourself a larger
generating container, and in the next few pages we'll show you how to make
one from an empty paint thinner can and some common items you'll find at
your local hardware store.


SOME SIMPLE BALLOON MATH

One ounce of scrap aluminum dropped into a lye solution will generate about
one cubic foot of hydrogen gas. One cubic foot of hydrogen gas has a
buoyancy in air of approximately one ounce, and in larger balloons buoyancy
of the gas volume is roughly equated with lifting capacity. If one ounce of
aluminum generates enough gas to provide one ounce of lift, one pound of
aluminum will produce enough gas to provide one pound of lift.

Balloon volume goes up with the cube of the diameter as balloon surface
area goes up with the square. For this reason larger balloons have a larger
buoyancy to weight ratio than smaller ones. As we said before, bigger
balloons are better balloons, and one with a full pound of lift is capable
of lifting a camera or even a radio controlled glider. The table below will
provide you with some statistics on balloon volume and lifting capacity as
related to balloon diameter.

DIAMETER     VOLUME            LIFT
---------------------------------------
 9"           0.22 CU FT.       5 GMS.

 11"          0.40 CU FT.       1/3 OZ.

 16"          1 1/4 CU. FT.     11/4 OZ.

 36"          14 CU. FT.        14 OZ.

 60"          65 CU. FT.        4 LBS.




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