It has been a year since I wrote the last article on rare gases, for gasworld’s sister publication CryoGas International. As I stated then, I am amazed at how volatile this market can be.
After almost 40 years of following this market I should not be surprised. The most interesting part of this is that it is neon, this time. In all my years I have seen xenon (Xe) shortages and price spikes four times, and krypton (Kr) shortages twice. Neon (Ne) has never been in shortage over that time. But today, we see this gas in severe shortage.
Like all shortages of rare gases, they always dissipate due to over-pricing, which pushes new sources, conservation or move applications toward other rare gas solutions. History has shown us that none of these shortages have lasted more than two years.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
