Today I was working with a client who informed that there is a “shortage” of Helium (He) and prices are starting to rise significantly and this could have a financial impact on their business in the future. Some may not be aware but He is a gas that is used in high purity processes as we see in pharmaceuticals and other “very clean” processes for leak testing. So I did some research and sure enough, there is a legitimate concern that He may be gone in 200 years or so. I also saw where some party stores are actually shutting down stores because they can’t get He for their balloons and other party items. One chain is closing dozens of stores around the USA and the big reason they say is the lack of He availability.
So this got my crazy safety brain spinning…Remember the video I posted last year where there was a ceremony in India and all of a sudden the ballons began exploding? The news outlet and some associated with the event claimed the balloons were filled with Nitrogen (N2), which I can GUARANTEE was not the gas as N2 is NOT lighter than “air” and such the balloons would NOT have been floating in the air! I was emphatic that the gas had to have been Hydrogen (H2) and NOT He or N2, as He and N2 are BOTH INERT GAS – NOT a flammable gas. However, Hydrogen (H2) is the lightest gas on this earth and almost 4X’s lighter than He, so the balloons would be very “buoyant” and they would certain explode like that when they touched the hot lights and popped – releasing the H2 gas, which has a Minimum Ignition Energy (MIE) of around 0.07 mJ. In other words, if we stare at H2 gas long enough we may be able to ignite telepathically! (That is a safety joke!) Here is that video:
SO a safety mind wants to know… Why would anyone use Hydrogen in party/celebration balloons? Well, I am going to go out on a limb and say that these folks were unable to get He at their local party store, so they went looking for another “lighter than air” gas and found out that H2 is even lighter. And just like the “Daily Mail” claimed the balloons in India were filled N2, a lot of folks do not understand flammable gases and just how dangerous they are. Don’t believe me…
spend 15 minutes on YouTube searching for flash fires and explosions – countless events! H2 is abundantly available in just about every town in every state; just drop by your local welding gas supply shop and they will lease you a cylinder of H2 that looks just like the He cylinder “you had used years back”. Never mind the bright red, albeit small, label on the cylinder with a flame symbol on it! And since this is “personal use”, no need to provide an SDS either.
The other error that could be made in these events is that He and H2 are similar in that they both start with a capital H and have only 2 letters/number. Maybe someone just thought that H2 and He were the same?
Here is the latest birthday video where the ballons ignited. Again in India, but we have some news accounts of this happening in the USA.
My last attempt to convince you these are H2 ignitions… WHERE IS THE SMOKE from these fires???? We can see in both video’s there is very light smoke, just enough from the rubber balloons burns. Other than that, this is a very clean burning fuel!
And for those who wonder if the gas may be propane or LPG (other readily available flammable gases), the balloons would NOT float if either of these gases was used as they are heavier than air. Although they could use NG, as it is lighter than air and flammable. But in the video’s the balloons are really buoyant and NG would not make them as perky as we see them in these videos.
Here is an actual demonstration showing the igniting of an H2 filled balloon in a science lab.
Another birthday video with balloons igniting
This last video provides us a clear picture of how cleanly H2 burns – virtually no smoke from the fire; what little smoke may be visible is from the balloon’s incomplete combustion.