The world’s helium supply has become unstable in recent years due to limited supply and refining capacity, political instability, and other factors. The helium recovery system has been in operation since September 2021. The helium recovery system is for recovering helium exhaust gas (gaseous) and controlling the concentration while recycling the resource. The system can recycle over 90% of the boil-off helium. The components of a helium recovery system include Atmospheric Helium Recovery Bag, Helium Recovery Compressor, Gas Cylinders, and Automatic Purifier.
Ability Engineering is an engineering and manufacturing company within the energy, industrial, and scientific market segments. Ability Engineering provides Helium Recovery Systems and components to multiple industries and markets. It ensures the most sustainable and optimal reuse of the increasingly scarce helium. The industries served by Ability Engineering include Energy, Oil and Gas, Chemical Processing, Industrial Gases, Aerospace, and Health Care.
Features of Helium Recovery Systems
Helium is a nonrenewable resource, becoming increasingly unavailable and expensive. Under these conditions, recovering helium right where it is used is becoming more attractive. Helium Recovery Systems (HRS) operate on the basic principle of recovering helium exhausted from the leak test process into a flexible wall (balloon style) reservoir. The helium is compressed and then filtered into a high-pressure storage cylinder.
The essential features of a helium recovery system include the following:
- Recovery efficiencies of up to 98%
- Standalone programmable control packages
- Compressors utilize an oil-less piston seal design to prevent oil.
- ASME-coded and certified gas storage vessels
- Continuous online gas concentration monitoring and feedback ensure tracer gas percentage levels.
- Real-time diagnostics
- Automatic start-up operation
- Non-Lubricated cylinders and piston offer ease of maintenance
- Cushioned valves designed for long life and quiet operation
- Piston rod seals of glass-filled self-lubricating Teflon, spring-loaded to compensate for lateral rod movement, wear, and temperature variations.
Benefits of Helium Recovery Systems
Helium recovery systems are ideal for recovering helium from natural gas deposits. Helium has the lowest boiling point, making it ideal for cryogenics, particularly in cooling superconducting magnets, like MRI and NMR. The helium recovery process is well known and incorporates plant machinery that can consume significant amounts of power, thus contributing to a facility’s already large carbon footprint.
Adding a helium recovery system to an existing system can save operating costs. The Helium Recovery system would be capable of capturing and separating the helium and hydrogen from waste gas streams instead of venting these two gases into the atmosphere. One could realize substantial cost savings by recycling these expensive gases in the test facility instead of buying additional helium.
The helium recovery system of Ability Engineering
Helium is a finite, nonrenewable resource that can be extracted from only a few natural gas fields around the globe. Its versatility has made it famous, but it is also dwindling in supply, sometimes making supplies scarce or costly. As a result, many industries utilize helium recycling systems to manage, recapture, and process their helium supply for future use. The Helium Recovery Units of Ability Engineering are generally composed of Six modules. The Modules include Gas Storage, a Compressor, Oil Removal System, Gas Drier, Helium Purifier, and Purified Gas Storage. If the user type is liquid helium, a liquefier, and liquid helium storage, dewar can be integrated.
