Helium is a colorless and odorless gas, in addition to being used to inflate balloons, it can be a very important strategic resource, which is essential for the development of high-tech industries. Helium is very scarce on the planet, China imports almost all of its helium needs, and the United States controls most of the world's helium resources. The light and fluttering helium has also become a tool for the United States to find ways to jam our necks.
Helium is the second element in the periodic table and the first noble gas element, with only two protons and two neutrons in its nucleus, making it one of the simplest stable nuclei. The density of helium is only 1 7 of air, so it can make the inflatable ball float. Helium is one of the most abundant elements in the Milky Way, second only to hydrogen, and accounts for 24% of the Milky Way's mass. But on Earth, helium is very rare, accounting for only 00005%, which is a non-renewable resource.
Helium is a miracle gas that is a number of radioactive elements in the earth's crust. These elements naturally decay, like nuclear fusion in the sun, to produce helium.
However, helium was too light for the Earth's gravitational pull to hold it, so it flew into space. Therefore, the helium we can see now is protected by some underground gas reservoirs. Some of these reservoirs are natural gas, some are coalbed methane, and they all have a little bit of helium in them. However, the helium content is very low, only a few parts per million, and if you want to separate it, you need to use some advanced industrial technology.
Although helium is scarce, it plays an important role in various high-tech fields, such as superconductivity, aerospace, high-end processing, etc. Helium is an indispensable raw material for superconductivity experiments, and the current of superconductors is very fast, very strong, and very stable.
They can generate a super-strong magnetic field, like a giant magnet. Such magnetic fields can be used for many useful things, such as building high-speed trains, generating electricity efficiently, or exploring the mysteries of the universe. The advantages of superconductors are that they can save energy, increase stability, and improve performance.
However, it is not easy to turn matter into a superconductor. They require extremely low temperatures, at least minus 200 degrees Celsius, and helium is the lowest temperature substance that humans can make, with a boiling point of only minus 26895 degrees. Therefore, the wires in superconducting devices must be soaked in liquid helium in order to maintain superconductivity.
Even the superconducting wires in the most advanced particle colliders have to be soaked in liquid helium, otherwise the wires simply cannot withstand 120,000 amps. Helium is the most basic raw material for the operation of the collider. Helium plays an important role in high-end equipment in the aerospace industry, which requires strong power and stability.
Helium can be used as a propellant in rocket engines, although helium is extremely stable, it does not participate in combustion, which in turn makes helium available, people pressurize helium, heat it and inject it into the combustion chamber at ultra-high speed to become a pressurizing agent.
Because helium is extremely stable, it does not chemically react with fuels and oxidizers, nor does it affect combustion efficiency.
Moreover, helium can also be used as a coolant for rockets and satellites, it can quickly take away the heat and be used to cool various components of rockets and satellites, helium has a variety of uses, but it is a non-renewable resource, once it is used up, it is gone. Moreover, there is a large imbalance between the demand for helium, which leads to the scarcity and fluctuation of helium.
Helium reserves are limited and unevenly distributed. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the global reserves of helium are about 14 trillion cubic feet, of which 40% is the United States, 28% is Qatar, 9% is Algeria, 7% is Russia, and 16% is other countries.
China's helium reserves account for only 2% of the world's total, and they are mainly distributed in coalbed methane fields in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and other places, where the geographical conditions and development difficulties are relatively large.
Helium extraction techniques are complex and costly. At present, the world's mainstream helium extraction method is to separate from natural gas, and these technologies require a lot of equipment, energy and manpower input, so the cost of helium extraction is very high. Moreover, not all natural gas fields are suitable for helium extraction, in general, only helium content exceeds 03 of the natural gas fields have economic value, and such natural gas fields are rare, there are only a few dozen in the world.
Moreover, the extraction of helium should also be coordinated with the exploitation of natural gas, and should not affect the ** and utilization of natural gas. Therefore, the ** of helium is very limited.
Although we have been looking for an alternative to helium, no suitable alternative material has been found so far, and due to the unique physical and chemical properties of helium, there is simply no other substance that can completely replace its role. Even though there are substances that can replace helium in some ways, they all have their own shortcomings and limitations, so the substitution effect is not ideal, and it may bring some safety and environmental issues.
According to the International Helium Association, the annual production of helium in the world is about 1800 million cubic meters, while the annual consumption of global helium is about 2200 million cubic meters, which creates a gap of 40 million cubic meters.
In order to ensure the safety of helium, we need to strengthen the exploration and development of helium resources, improve the level of helium extraction technology, establish a helium reserve, storage and transportation system, and form a complete chain of helium industry. Scientists from the China Academy of Coal Sciences have successfully overcome this problem and created the world's first helium-containing coalbed methane extraction high-purity helium device with completely independent intellectual property rights.
This device is capable of purifying helium in coalbed methane to 99The level of more than 999% has reached the international advanced standard. This technological breakthrough not only demonstrates China's leading position in the field of helium extraction, but also adds a new one to China's helium.