NaOH and Aluminium

sccats

What are the products of mixing Sodium hydroxide and aluminium . Is the evolved gas dangerous to inhale (by accident) ?? shortened version of story: Spilt drain cleaner on counter, had gloves etc but some tin foil got in the way and when went to clear, inhaled the fumes which i nearly choked on. Am i in any danger?

SOL

Well the gas that is evolved is Hydrogen, it arises because the fine coating on aluminium which usually prevents it reacting with water is dissolved by the NaOH. The largest danger from hydrogen is it's flamability however, since this reaction is quite exothermic (gives out a lot of heat) it will also cause the water to boil and you will also get steam and a mist of your solution which presents obvious dangers.


Since I'm not in a position to offer medical advice all I can say is that you shouldn't panic, but if you feel in anyway unwell you should seek medical advice.

So it really depends on what happened... nothing toxic is involved, but NaOH and the NaAlOH4 or whatever other products might occur will be caustic and can cause burns or damage to any part of the body they come in contact with, but you'd very likely notice these, also
you could read the MSDS http://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/majors/msdsfiles/msdssodiumhydroxide.htm

sccats

Thanks SOL. Thats put me at rest

FarmerGreen

sccats wrote: »

Thanks SOL. Thats put me at rest

Breathing in a caustic soda aerosol may just do that.
Hopefully not.

Capt'n Midnight

caustic burns are just nasty and take ages to heal

and I really hate that soapy feeling on your fingertips , but that happens long before you get a burn