Why Doesn't Cooking Chicken in Aluminum Foil Cause an Explosion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bipolarity
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Aluminium
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
Sign up Log in
1 reply · 4K views
Bipolarity
Messages
773
Reaction score
2
Straight off of one of my textbooks:
"Cooking a chicken with pure aluminium foil should be a dangerous activity. This is because the aluminium metal would react with the steam given off from the chicken to produce aluminium oxide and hydrogen... BANG! Can you explain why this does not happen? ""

I feel that this does not happen because aluminium is corrosion resistant with its own protective oxide coat, but I have a feeling there are other possible explanations.

Discuss.

BiP
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org

Discussion

Sounds correct to me, aluminum foil is passivated with oxides, so amount of hydrogen that can be produced is way too low.