Helium is a chemical formula. The discovery of helium. Examples of solving problems

Exist three main sources of obtaining  helium:

• from helium-containing natural gases
• from minerals
• from the air

Helium production from natural gas

The main method for producing helium is the method of fractional condensation from natural helium-containing gases, i.e. deep cooling method. Moreover, its characteristic property is used - the lowest boiling point compared to known substances. This allows you to condense all gases associated with helium, especially methane and nitrogen. The process is usually carried out in two stages:

• isolation of the so-called crude helium (concentrate containing 70-90% He)
• purification to obtain technically pure helium.

The figure below shows one of the setups for the extraction of helium from natural gas.

Gas is compressed to 25 atmospheres and under this pressure enters the installation. Purification from (CO 2) and partial drying of the gas are carried out in scrubbers, which are irrigated with a solution containing 10-20% monoethanolamine, 70-80% diethylene glycol and 5-10% water. After scrubbers, 0.003-0.008% of carbon dioxide CO2 remains in the gas, and the dew point does not exceed 5 ° C. Further drying is carried out in adsorbers with silica gel, where the dew point temperature of -45 ° C is reached.

Under a pressure of about 20 atmospheres, pure dry gas enters the preliminary heat exchanger 1, where it is cooled to -28 ° C by reverse gas flows. When this occurs, condensation of heavy hydrocarbons occurs, which are separated in the separator 2. In the ammonia refrigerator 3, the gas is cooled to -45 ° C, the condensate is separated in the separator 4. In the main heat exchanger 5, the gas temperature decreases to -110 ° C, as a result of which a significant part condenses methane. The vapor-liquid mixture (about 20% of the liquid) is throttled to a pressure of 12 atmospheres in the first counter-current condenser 6, at the outlet of which the vapor-gas mixture is enriched with helium up to 3%. Condensate formed in the tubes flows into the stripping section, on the plates of which the helium dissolved in it is removed from the liquid and attached to the vapor-gas stream.

The liquid is throttled to 1.5 atmospheres into the annulus of the condenser, where it serves as a refrigerant. The steam formed here is discharged through heat exchangers 5 and 1. The steam-gas mixture leaving the condenser 6 and containing up to 3% He goes to a second counterflow condenser 7, consisting of two parts, at a pressure of 12 atmospheres: in the lower part there is a coil heat exchanger, in the tubes of which the cubic fluid throttled from 12 to 1.5 atmospheres evaporates, and in the upper part there is a direct-tube heat exchanger, in the annulus of which nitrogen boils at a temperature of -203 ° C and a pressure of 0.4 atmosphere. As a result of condensation of the components of the gas mixture in the lower part of the apparatus 7, the gas is enriched with helium up to 30-50%, and in the upper part up to 90-92%.

Raw helium of this composition under a pressure of 11-12 atmospheres enters the heat exchangers, where it is heated and removed from the installation. Since natural gas contains small impurities of hydrogen, the concentration of hydrogen in raw helium increases to 4-5%. The removal of hydrogen is carried out by catalytic hydrogenation, followed by drying of the gas in adsorbers with silica gel. Crude helium is compressed to 150-200 atmospheres by a membrane compressor 8, cooled in a heat exchanger 9, and fed into a direct-flow coil condenser 10 cooled by nitrogen boiling under vacuum. Condensate (liquid) is collected in the separator 11 and periodically removed, and non-condensed gas containing approximately 98% He goes to adsorber 12 with activated carbon cooled by liquid nitrogen. Helium leaving the adsorber contains less than 0.05% of impurities and enters the cylinders 13 as a product.

Natural gases in the USA are especially rich in helium, which determines the widespread use of helium in this country.

Getting helium from minerals

Other sources of helium are  some radioactive minerals  containing uranium, thorium and samarium:

• slander
• fergusonite
• samarskite
• gadolinite
• monazite
• thorianite

In particular monazite sands, a large deposit of which is in Travankor (India): the monazites of this deposit contain about 1 cm 3 of helium in 1 g of ore.

To obtain helium from a monocyte, it is necessary to heat a monocyte in a closed vessel to 1000 ° C. Helium is released along with carbon dioxide (CO 2), which is then absorbed by a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The residual gas contains 96.6% He. Further purification is performed at 600 ° С on magnesium metal to remove nitrogen, and then at 580 ° С - on calcium metal to remove remaining impurities. Production gas contains over 99.5% He. About 1000 m 3 of pure helium can be obtained from 1000 tons of monazite sand. Such the method of producing helium is not of technical and industrial interest..

Helium production from air

Helium is in small amounts in the air.from which it can be obtained as a by-product in the production of oxygen and nitrogen from air described in the article "". In industrial distillation columns to separate air above liquid nitrogen, the remaining gaseous mixture of neon and helium is collected. The picture below shows claude's apparatusspecially adapted to separate such a mixture.

The gas leaving the apparatus through valve D is cooled in the coil S, which is poured with liquid nitrogen from T to condense the residual nitrogen. If valve R is opened slightly, a mixture containing very little nitrogen is obtained. With this method of industrial production of helium, in addition to the difficulty in the need to process a large amount of air, there is an additional difficulty - the need separation of helium from neon. This separation can be carried out using liquid hydrogen, in which neon solidifies, or by adsorbing neon with activated carbon cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Obtaining helium from air is impractical  due to its small amount - 0.00046% of the volume or 0.00007% of the weight. Calculations show that the cost of one cubic meter of helium extracted from air will be thousands of times greater than when it is extracted from natural gases. Such a high cost, of course, eliminates the possibility of industrial separation of helium from the air.

For example: To get 1 cubic meter of helium, you need to allocate 116 tons of nitrogen.

HELIUM, He (lat.Helium, from Greek helios - the Sun, because it was first discovered in the solar spectrum * A. helium; N. Helium; F. helium; I. helio), - an element of group VIII of the Mendeleev’s periodic system , relates to inert gases, atomic number 2, atomic mass 4,0026. Natural helium consists of two stable isotopes 3 He and 4 He. It was discovered in 1868 by the French astronomer J. Zhansen and the English astronomer J. N. Lokier during a spectroscopic study of solar prominences. Helium was first isolated in 1895 by the English physicist W. Ramzai from the radioactive mineral cleveite.

  Helium properties

Under normal conditions, helium is a gas without color and odor. 0.178 kg / m 3, boiling t - 268.93 ° С. Helium is the only element that in the liquid state does not solidify at normal pressure, no matter how deeply it is cooled. In 1938, the Soviet physicist P.L. Kapitsa discovered 4 He superfluidity - the ability to flow without viscosity. The smallest pressure required to convert liquid helium to solid is 2.5 MPa, with a melting point of 272.1 ° C. (at 0 ° С) 2.1.10 -2 W / m.K. A helium molecule consists of one atom, its radius is from 0.085 (non-nontin) to 0.133 nm (Van der Waals) (0.85-1.33 E). About 8.8 ml of helium dissolves in 1 liter of water at 20 ° C. No stable chemical compounds of helium have been obtained.

  Helium in nature

In terms of prevalence in the Universe, helium takes the 2nd place after. There is little helium on Earth: 1 m 3 of air contains 5.24 cm 3 of helium, with an average content of 3.10 -7%. In the stratum lithosphere there are 3 genetic components of helium - radiogenic, pristine and atmospheric helium. Radiogenic helium is formed everywhere during the radioactive transformations of heavy elements and various nuclear reactions, pristine - it enters the lithosphere both from deep rocks that occulted primordial helium and have preserved it since the formation of the planet, and from space along with cosmic dust, meteorites, etc. Atmospheric helium gets into precipitation from the air during sedimentogenesis processes, as well as with infiltrating surface waters.

The value of the 3 He / 4 He ratio in radiogenic helium is 10–8, in mantle helium (a mixture of primordial and radiogenic) (3 ± 1) .10 -5, in cosmic helium 10 -3 -10 -4, in atmospheric air 1.4.10 -6. In terrestrial helium, the 4 He isotope is absolutely predominant. The main amount of 4 He was formed during the a-decay of natural radioactive elements (radioisotopes, actinouran and). Insignificant sources of the formation of 4 He and 3 He in the lithosphere are nuclear reactions (neutron fission of lithium, etc.), decay of tritium, and others. Radiogenic 4 He 3 He / 4 He \u003d (2 ± 1 ) .10 -8. An increased amount of 3 He 3 He / 4 He \u003d n.10 -5 is characteristic of tectonically disturbed earth's crust (rift zones, deep faults, eruptive apparatuses, with tectonagmatic or seismic activity, etc.). For other geological structures, the ratio of 3 He / 4 He in reservoir gases and fluids varies from 10 -8 -10 -7. The difference in the values \u200b\u200bof the 3 He / 4 He isotope-helium ratios in mantle and core helium is an indicator of the modern relationship of deep fluids with the mantle. Due to the lightness, inertness and high permeability of helium, most rock-forming ones do not hold it, and helium migrates along the fractured-pore spaces of the rocks, dissolving in the fluids filling them, sometimes far away from the main formation zones.

Helium is an obligatory impurity in all gases forming independent clusters in the earth's crust or going out in the form of natural gas jets. Helium is usually an insignificant admixture to other gases; in rare cases, its amount reaches several% (by volume); maximum helium concentrations were detected in underground gas accumulations (8-10%), uranium gases (10-13%) and water-dissolved gases (18-20%).

  Helium production

In industry, helium is obtained from helium-containing gases by the method of deep cooling (up to -190 ° C), a small amount - during the operation of air separation plants. The main gas components are condensed (frozen), and the remaining helium concentrate is cleaned of hydrogen and. Diffuse helium recovery methods are also being developed.

Transportation and storage of helium - in highly sealed containers. Helium of the 1st and 2nd grades is usually transported in steel cylinders of different capacities, most often up to 40 liters, under pressure up to 15 MPa. Helium storages are also arranged in underground salt chambers, and raw helium (about 60% He and 40% N 2) is stored in developed underground gas structures. Over long distances, helium is supplied in compressed and liquid form using specially equipped vehicles, as well as a gas pipeline (for example, in the USA).

  Helium use

The use of helium is based on its unique properties such as complete inertness (welding in helium atmosphere, production of ultrapure and semiconductor materials, additive in breathing mixtures, etc.), high permeability (leak detectors in high and low pressure devices). helium is the only chemical element that allows you to get ultra-low temperatures necessary for all types of superconducting systems and installations (cryoenergy). Liquid helium is a refrigerant in scientific research.

Helium: how is it extracted and where is it used

Helium is an inert gas without color and odor, a chemical element introduced into the periodic system. The first mention of helium dates back to 1868. Researchers Pierre Jules Jansen and Joseph Norman Lockyer then observed a solar eclipse and performed ray spectroscopy. When dividing the solar best into elements of different colors, they noticed a light yellow element, previously unknown to physicists. Later it turned out that it was helium.

Despite the fact that helium is the second largest in the universe after hydrogen, it is rare on Earth. Only in 1895, scientists from Scotland managed to isolate this substance from cleveite - a natural mineral.

Helium deposits

Today helium is mined in the bowels of the earth, releasing it from natural gas. In Russia, the gas processing plant in Orenburg is engaged in its production. The natural gas used at the plant contains only 0.055% helium, which is considered a very small indicator. Helium-rich gases are gases in which its content is at least 0.5%. If natural gas contains from 0.1 to 0.5% helium, it is called a generic helium field.

In total, there are more than 40 billion cubic meters of helium on Earth. Most rich in helium are China, Russia, the USA, Algeria, and Qatar. About 175 million cubic meters of helium are mined annually around the world. Russian fields produce only 5 million cubic meters. In Siberia and the Far East, rich deposits of this gas have been discovered, but today its production has not been established there.

How to get helium from natural gas

The process of producing helium consists of two stages. First, natural gas is cooled, after which condensation occurs and a helium concentrate is released - a substance that consists of 80% helium. After that, the resulting substance is purified from impurities (hydrogen, argon, methane, nitrogen). Various methods are used to cleanse.

Where is helium used?

This inert gas conducts electricity and heat very well, therefore it is widely used in many fields - in rocket science, aviation, nuclear industry, and medicine. It is much lighter than air, so it is also used in aeronautics and scuba diving.

This gas is part of breathing mixtures - it is non-toxic, it can be inhaled without harm to health.

More recently, scientists have discovered another area of \u200b\u200bapplication of helium - in the nuclear industry. Helium is used as a heat conductor for nuclear reactors. In metallurgy, this gas is used as a protective substance in welding operations.

Helium Reserves on Earth

According to experts, in order to satisfy such great helium needs, by 2030, 238-312 million cubic meters will be required annually. By this time, production will increase to only 213-238 million cubic meters per year, so some helium shortages are expected in the manufacturing sectors. There is only one way out of this situation - to increase the amount of helium mined. New enterprises are already being built in Russia to extract it, mainly in the regions of Siberia.

Helium - a chemical element with atomic number 2 in the periodic system of chemical elements Mendeleev. The chemical formula is He. Helium is an inert gas without color and odor.

Helium is very common in the universe. It takes second place after hydrogen. But there is little helium on Earth.

Helium does not react with any chemical element. Its atoms do not even connect together. Helium is off.

Helium discovery

Helium was discovered in 1868 during a solar eclipse. Moreover, this discovery was made simultaneously by two astronomers - the French Pierre Jules Jansen and the Englishman Joseph Norman Lokier. In the spectrum of the solar corona, both independently discovered a yellow line that did not belong to any of the elements known at that time. Locker in 1871 suggested that a new chemical element is present on the Sun. And in 1895 scottish chemist William Ramsay first released gas from the radioactive mineral cleveitis. The spectrum of this gas contained exactly the same yellow line. The new item was given a name.Helios is the sun.

Helium production

Helium is obtained from natural helium-bearing gases by the method of deep cooling. Helium is extracted in two stages. The first stage is the production of helium concentrate by condensation at low temperature. And the second stage is the purification of the helium concentrate from methane, hydrogen, nitrogen, neon, argon.

All major global helium reserves are located in Algeria, Qatar, the USA and Russia. The largest producer of helium is the USA. Little helium is mined in Russia, since its main deposits are located in the underdeveloped deposits of the Far East and Eastern Siberia.

Helium application

Helium has high electrical and thermal conductivity. In addition, he has a very low boiling point, minus 268.94 ° C.

The scope of helium is very wide.

A mixture of helium gas with oxygen is used to relieve asthma attacks. Helium dissolves much worse in blood than nitrogen. Therefore, it is used in breathing mixtures supplied to divers during deep-sea diving, to create an artificial atmosphere of space ships and stations.

Many technological processes in production cannot be carried out in air due to the possibility of the reaction of raw materials or the resulting product with air gases, and helium gas comes to the rescue with the help of which special protective media are created.

Separate stages of nuclear fuel production take place in a helium protective environment. The fuel elements of nuclear reactors are also transported and stored in containers filled with gel. Helium is used to identify potential leakage in nuclear reactors. Helium is used in gas thermometers, high voltage switches, in neutron counters, for gas lubrication of bearings.

As an inert medium, helium is used in arc welding.

Helium is filled with airships and balloons.

Helium is not toxic. And inhaling a small amount of helium with air is harmless.

Not amenable to the laws of classical mechanics. Scientists are trying to solve the mystery of helium-4. It is a lightweight, non-radioactive element isotope. Actually, it accounts for 99.9% of helium on Earth.

So, if you cool the 4th isotope to -271 degrees Celsius, you get a liquid. Only here are its properties for liquids are not typical. For example, superfluidity is observed.

If put helium  into the vessel and put it vertically, the liquid will violate the laws of gravity. After a few minutes, the contents of the container will flow out of it. From this it follows that helium is an elementcurious, and curiosity must be satisfied. Let's start our acquaintance with the properties of a substance.

Helium properties

Not. This is not a particle of negation, but the designation of the 2nd element of the periodic system, that is, helium. Gasin the normal state, it thickens only at subzero temperatures. Moreover, this minus should be a couple of hundred degrees Celsius.

Moreover, in helium gas propertiesinsolubility in water is entered. That is, if it’s not itself, then its molecules are in one phase, without going into others. Meanwhile, it is the change of phases of a substance that determines the formation of a solution.

Helium is an inert gas. Its inertness is manifested not only in the absence of “desire” to dissolve in water. The substance is in no hurry to enter into other reactions. Reason: - stable outer shell of the atom.

There are 2 electrons on it. It is difficult to break a strong pair, that is, remove one of the particles from the shell of an atom. Therefore, helium was discovered not during chemical experiments, but during spectroscopic studies of prominences.

It happened in the second half of the 19th century. Other inert gases, and there are 6 of them, were discovered even later. Around the same time, that is, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was possible to convert helium into liquid form.

Helium - Monoatomicgas without taste and smell. This is also an expression of the inertia of the element. He associates only with three "colleagues" according to the periodic table, -,, and. The reaction itself will not start.

Need ultraviolet light, or current discharges. But in order for helium to "run away" from a test tube, or other volumetric body, efforts are not needed. The 2nd element has the smallest adsorption, that is, the ability to concentrate on a plane or in volume.

Store gas helium in cylinders. They must be absolutely airtight. Otherwise, adsorption will play a trick on suppliers. The substance will leak through the smallest gaps. And be cylinders made of porous material, helium will escape through it.

Helium gas density7 times inferior to oxygen. The latter is 1.3 kilograms per cubic meter. In helium, the density is only 0.2 kilograms. Accordingly, the hero is light. Helium molar mass  equal to 4 grams per mole.

For comparison, in air, in general, the indicator is 29 grams. It becomes clear why is popular helium for balls. The difference in the masses of the 2nd element and air is spent on lifting goods. Recall that a mole is equal to 22 mind liters. It turns out that 22 liters of helium can lift a 25-gram load. A cubic meter of gas will pull more than a kilogram.

Finally, we note that helium has excellent electrical conductivity. At least this applies to gases. Among them, the second is no longer in second, but in first place. But helium is not a leader in terms of its content on Earth. In the atmosphere of the planet of the hero article millionths of a percent. So where did the gas come from? It is not practical to fish him out of the atmosphere.

Helium mining

Helium formulait is a component not only of the atmosphere, but also of the natural. The content of the 2nd element also varies in different deposits. In, for example, the deposits of the Far East and the east of Siberia are richest in helium.

However, gas deposits in these regions are poorly developed. Encourages their development of 0.2-0.8 percent helium content. In the meantime, it is mined only in one field of the country. It is located in Orenburg, recognized as poor in helium. However, 5,000,000 cubic meters of gas per year are produced.

Worldwide helium production per year is 175,000,000 cubic meters. At the same time, gas reserves are 41 billion cubic meters. Most of them are hidden in the bowels of Algeria, Qatar and the United States. also included in the list.

Helium is obtained from natural gas by low-temperature condensation. It turns out the concentrate of the 2nd element with its content of at least 80%. Another 20% comes from argon, neon, methane, and nitrogen. What kind of gas is heliuminterferes? No. But impurities interfere with people. Therefore, the concentrate is purified, converting 80% of the 2nd element to 100%.

The problem is that one also has 100 percent certainty that a helium deficiency awaits the planet. By 2030, world gas consumption should reach 300,000,000 cubic meters.

Helium production in 10 years will not be able to cross the bar of 240 million due to a shortage of raw materials. It is an irreplaceable resource. The second is released bit by bit during the decay of radioactive rocks.

The speed of natural production does not keep up with the needs of people. Therefore, experts predict a sharp jump in helium. So far, the sale of the US reserve fund, which has become unprofitable for the country, depreciates low.

A national reserve was created at the beginning of the last century in order to fill military airships and commercial aircraft. The repository is located in Texas.

Helium application

You can find helium in the fuel tanks of rockets. There, the second is adjacent to liquid hydrogen. At the same time, only helium is able to remain gaseous, which means to create the necessary pressure in the engine tanks.

Filling balloons is another thing that comes in handy helium gas. Carbonic,  for example, will not work, because it’s difficult. Lighter than helium  only one gas, this is hydrogen. Only now, it is explosive.

At the beginning of the last century, the Hindenburg airship was filled with hydrogen and saw how it ignited during the flight. Since then it has been made in favor of an inert, albeit slightly heavier, helium.

Helium is also popular as a cooling agent. Application is associated with the ability of a gas to generate ultra-low temperatures. Helium is purchased for hadron colliders and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers. They use the 2nd element in the same way in MRI devices. There helium is pumped into superconducting.

MRI passed many. Close to the mass consumer and scanners at the box office, reading barcodes. So, helium and neon are pumped into store lasers. Separately, helium is placed in ion microscopes. They give a better picture than electronic ones, one might say they also read data.

In air conditioning systems, the 2nd is needed for diagnosing leaks. The super-permeability of the article's hero comes in handy. If he finds where to leak, it means that other components can also “leak”.

It's about car air conditioning. By the way, airbags are also filled with helium. It seeps into rescue tanks faster than other gases.

Helium price

Bye on gas helium Priceequal to approximately 1,300 rubles per one and a half cubic meters. They contain 10 liters of the 2nd element. There are cylinders and 40 liters. It is almost 6 cubes of helium. The price tag for 40 liter packs is approximately 4,500.

By the way, for greater tightness, protective covers are put on gas cylinders. They also cost, usually, about 300 rubles for 40-liter containers and 150 rubles for 10-liter containers.