Helium is a non-renewable energy source, and as a greater amount of it gets utilized, less of it is there for future generations. Finding a substitute for helium stays on the minds of those behind technologies, for example, MRI machines, yet making this innovation is never simple and may turn out to be unimaginable if a reasonable trade for helium isn’t found.
Liquid helium is odorless, non-flammable, colorless and extremely cold. It is used in several ordinary conditions because it does not react with other compounds and elements. Having noncorrosive properties, it eliminates the need for special materials; therefore, it is widely used in construction. Liquid Helium has several other uses too.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines use liquid helium to cool down the instruments and keep them in ideal working condition. Without the presence of liquid helium, MRI machines would overheat and stop working. Liquid helium has the lowest known temperature when it is in its liquid state, making it an efficient and preferred cooling agent. In addition to this, the military utilizes liquid helium in radiation detection technology.
Liquid Helium is a key in the semiconductor processing industry. Silicon wafers suppliers are the primary users of this industry. In this activity, helium-cooled superconducting magnets are mainly used to stabilize the hot boules of semiconductor material mechanically. Plasma etching and vacuum pumping are other activities in this industry that use helium for their process.
Now, the production of liquid helium has become easy with Cryomech’s Liquid Helium plants. We, at MVS Engineering, supply Helium recovery and liquefaction systems in partnership with the world leaders – Cryomech (USA).
Since helium is a light and inert gas, it can be used to inflate different types of balloons, like hot air balloons for riding. A small airship called a blimp can also be inflated with helium, as it is safe due to its non-flammable nature. Helium balloons can also be used for research purposes, as it does not react with other materials. Helium gas can be pumped into a balloon, displacing the air inside it to make it easily floatable.
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Helium is a good conductor of heat. Hence, it can be used as a shielding gas in the autogenous welding process. Though helium is quite expensive, it is usually used in carbon dioxide laser welding and passed through a copper tube to the welder. Thus, helium is used for metal fabrication in manufacturing electronics products, like TVs, computer monitors, and mobile LCD screens. Sometimes, metal fabricators add argon to helium for better shielding with shallower penetration while welding metals.
The production of silicon and germanium crystals needs the diffusion of helium gas, as these two elements show almost similar reactions with oxygen. The diffusion coefficient of helium in these materials can be measured by the speed of helium gas evolving on heating these crystals. However, there are differences in activation energies needed for the interaction of helium with silicon or germanium.
As the molecules of helium are very small, this gas can be safely used to spot leakages in pipelines. The inertness of helium is also helpful, as it never reacts with other elements, unlike hydrogen. Thus, all plastic and metal pipes can be checked by passing helium gas to find if there is any leakage on the surface. Since helium is very light, it can pass much quicker than air through these pipelines. Even minute leaks can be detected by introducing helium with a spectrometer or a residual gas analyzer.
Helium, along with nitrogen and hydrogen, is essential as a carrier gas in gas chromatography. As it is an inert gas, it can be safely used as a separator without reacting with other elements.
If you are unclear about the benefits of using gas generators over gas cylinders, you can freely get in touch with us, and our team will guide you to get the most out of your process. They will advise you on your requirement of helium gas and liquid helium.
