The Future of Helium as a Natural Resource

by Nuttall; William J.

• ISBN13: 9780415576970
• ISBN10: 0415576970
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-26
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The purpose of the book is to inform the reader as to the future for Helium: a most unusual substance of significant high technology relevance and key natural resource. The frame of reference is international and not just American: helium is globalizing Commercial helium is a by-product of the natural gas industry. The relationship of helium supply to natural gas is fundamental and has not been studied extensively in the past. The global natural gas industry is part way through a profound change with increasing emphasis on liquefied natural gas. This has major consequences for helium supply. The authors turn their attention to helium supply and demand; most helium studies having previously been excessively focused on the supply-side. Chapters study the potential impact of helium in a number of fields, including medical imaging and the nuclear industry, as well its influence in major national economies such as Russia and India.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	p. xi
Notes on contributors	p. xviii
Acronyms and abbreviations	p. xxiv
Preface	p. xxxiii
Editors' acknowledgements	p. xxxvii
Units conversion table	p. xxxix
Introduction	p. 1
A history of the helium industry	p. 15
The US federal helium reserve	p. 48
Helium in Algeria: pioneering helium extraction from LNG	p. 55
LNG: the global liquefied natural gas industry	p. 69
Helium in Russia	p. 88
India: harnessing helium from the Earth's interior	p. 101
Helium from the air: the backstop	p. 119
Helium demand: applications, prices and substitution	p. 134
The dynamics of the helium market	p. 157
Closed-cycle refrigeration: minimizing helium demand in cryogenic applications	p. 174
Medical imaging: why helium prevails	p. 190
Rising to the challenges of constrained helium supply in cryogenic systems for the research market	p. 203
Helium and nuclear fission energy	p. 228
Helium and fusion energy	p. 235
Substituting hydrogen for helium in cryogenic applications	p. 265
Is there a helium problem? Ways forward	p. 296
The future of helium: policy, molecules and machines	p. 307
Author index	p. 313
Subject index	p. 316
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