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Helium Recovery and Recycling Systems By Chuck Wilkinson July/August 2010
While industries strive to meet increasing demands for higher quality products at lower prices, the need to efficiently recover and recycle process gas becomes apparent. This applies particularly to helium.
Why Use Helium?
Helium has unique properties that make it valuable for use in a wide range of applications. Helium is present in the atmosphere at around five parts per million resulting in lower instrument background noise and therefore better test sensitivity. Its properties make possible the detection of extremely small leaks, which has led to the adoption of helium usage in mass spectrometry and among a variety of other applications. It is light and inert. The only danger when using helium is simple asphyxiation but only when used without adequate ventilation. Helium will dissipate quickly allowing for fast cleanups of the mass spectrometer and ultimately shorter test times.
