Hi, I came across a video about Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) and I was intrigued by the chemical reaction behind it. Hydrogen gas is produced when water is added into the packet. I was wondering is it safe to inhale the hydrogen gas that it produces? Thank you so much for your time.
Hydrogen can be an asphyxiant by displacing the oxygen in the air. However, for the volume of hydrogen needed to do that in a normal sized room, the bigger issue would be explosion risks.
For a MRE, the amount of hydrogen produced is very small and will quickly dissipate. Any hydrogen you breathe in from the MRE will be less than the explosion limit in air.