>> a Colorado State University chemist who orders a 60-liter dewar every 8–13 weeks to fill his 8-tesla superconducting magnet.<p>So... absolutely no recapture of this used helium? I wouldn't be throwing stones at party balloons. Seriously, the concept of helium as a <i>disposable</i> gas is the root of the entire price problem. <i>Hopefully</i> the price will rise to the point that capture and recycling become more cost effective.<p>>>A new, $110 000 liquefier at the University of Idaho is expected to recycle most of the helium needed for three NMR magnets, an electron paramagnetic resonance magnet, and a Mössbauer spectrometer, says Blumenfeld. As an added benefit, the new machine will enable the university to purchase its helium in gaseous form instead of liquid, for a substantial cost savings, he says.<p>110K? That is dirt cheap for nearly any industrial process. Industrial baking ovens can cost more. Why are such things not standard with every device needing substantial amounts of helium.
There has never been a helium shortage. It’s just more costly than scientists would prefer. If they were willing to pay even more, massive more amounts would be available.
And it'll improve. There was a helium find with absolutely insane natural concentrations in South Africa recently.<p>>Helium is found within natural gas in concentrations typically up to 1% by volume of the gas released; however, the updated reserve review shows that the latest well drilled in the Virgina project contains a concentration of almost 11%.<p><a href="https://m.miningweekly.com/article/south-africa-to-become-eighth-country-to-export-helium-by-2019-renergen-2018-03-12" rel="nofollow">https://m.miningweekly.com/article/south-africa-to-become-ei...</a>
If you're old enough, you might have noticed a pattern.<p>1. BIG NEWS: Resource X is running out!<p>2. Years later: BIG NEWS: Resource X is miraculously not running out!<p>I'm <i>not</i> saying that always happens and nothing ever runs out. But it's common enough that I put these in the "I'll believe it when I see it" file.<p>No one ever sold a paper or a click on a "THINGS ARE PROBABLY OK!" headline.
This might be painful for scientists to hear but they actually _need_ helium prices to rise (No pun intended). It's the best way to make sure the substance isn't wasted.
Once humanity is able to fuse hydrogen atoms into helium, we'll have more helium than we'll know what to do with.<p>Also, why is everyone measuring helium in volume (litres, cubic feet)? This is highly dependent on temperature and pressure. Why not state quantities in terms of mass?
Fun fact, if you've ever driven from Texas to Colorado, you'll pass the largest Helium producing plant in the US just a few miles north of Amarillo, TX - on, aptly named Helium Plant Road.<p>When the whole shortage made the news, I had heard that the plant was for sale, and I actually talked with my wife and joked that we could buy the plant and corner a significant portion of the Helium market. LOL! I thought it would be pretty cool to own a significant part of the production of a single element.
Still super expensive though! I guess at least it's available again. I remember doing some liquid helium experiments in class in college just as the helium crunch started. The department didn't seem very happy suddenly having to spend hundreds of dollars extra just to let some undergrads play with it. I wonder if they discontinued that particular experiment.
I’m glad the conversation has evolved from “we’re running out of helium”.<p>We’re only running out of helium if we’ve quit extracting fossil fuels.<p>Helium is a byproduct of extraction, and is most commonly vented into the atmosphere because it’s not commercially viable to process it due to its low price.
> "some producers have recently been injecting helium into the reserve’s underground dome"<p>This would be an interesting facility to see photos of.
Do people not realize that you can extract helium in the air? Granted current methods are somewhat inefficient, it's totally possible to do with today's technology.