Helium Production for Dummies

Helium

We here at the Antisocial Network are firm believers in the idea that people shouldn't be allowed to remain ignorant when the remedy is readily available (and painless). In other words, when someone makes a stupid mistake, we have no objection to correcting them: it's to their benefit, after all. So if someone were to ask us, "How Is Helium Mined?" we would gently point out that helium isn't mined, because it's a gaseous element. Then we'd tell them how helium is recovered, produced, or extracted – whatever verb you prefer. We'd probably do a better job than Aminah Paden did for Sciencing.com, though... (weird: Leaf Group has stripped off her byline...)

Paden's "references" were a couple of newspaper articles about the looming helium shortage, some article about mining helium-3 on the moon (written by a guy with a degree in "peace and conflict resolution"?) and what she claimed to have been communication with the "assistant field manager of helium operations" at the BLM in Amarillo. That "interview" was probably bull, by the way, given the quality of the content...
But more to the point: Helium, a byproduct of the decay of unstable isotopes (uranium and thorium, mainly), is typically found in accumulations of natural gas. As a rule, it is in very low amounts, but is known to occur in concentrations of nearly 10 per cent. Processing of natural gas to remove the helium involves cryogenics, or extreme cold to separate different gases on the basis of their boiling points.

Aminah sort of got to that, although she took a long time doing so – opening with boilerplate about a helium shortage and followed by a cockeyed description of drilling for natural gas in which she claimed that,

"...when gas is located it rises to the top. The gas fills the hollow space in the drill rig line and is directed through a series of pipes to a plant..."

Chuckle. Wonder where the Christmas tree comes in... It's after this that Aminah tells her readers how it's done:

"Separate the natural gas from the nitrogen. Decrease the temperature of the natural gas and use a nitrogen rejection unit to separate nitrogen from the natural gas. The helium gas concentrates within the nitrogen. Separate the helium gas from the nitrogen using a cryogenic separation unit. Use the compressor to compress the gas and then the gas will expand into a large container, creating a cooling effect. As the gas cools, the helium separates from the nitrogen."

We love it when technoboobs parrot information they don't understand... As if everybody knows what a "nitrogen rejection unit" and a "cryogenic separation unit" are, right? No to mention that her description of using a compressor for cooling leaves a little to be desired – like accuracy. And then there's this claim that neither Paden nor her content editor thought to verify:

"Natural gas will become a liquid between -15 and -25 degrees Celsius."

Apparently, Paden thinks that natural gas will form puddles during a Chicago winter. For her information, -15°C is 5°F. No, Aminah, the boiling point of natural gas is around -160°F, not the temperature of an outdoor hockey rink!

Nope, it's pretty clear that our Dumbass of the Day wouldn't know helium if it made her sound like Donald Duck, and has no concept of cryogenic separation at all. Must be eHow again, right?

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