The University of Illinois has recently made considerable investment in helium recycling technology as it strives to achieve sustainability in the gas against a well-documented backdrop of fluctuating supply dynamics.
Helium is a linchpin for millions of dollars of chemical and engineering research on the University’s Urbana-Champaign campus.
Its primary application on campus is as a liquid, used as a coolant for superconducting magnets, which carry a stable electrical current that scientists use to investigate the molecular structure of anything from pigments and building materials to pharmaceutical compounds and food flavours.
According to a statement from the Campus’ Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment, the Department of Physics has invested $600,000 in new air compressors, increased gas storage capacity, an underground transportation pipeline, and a remote helium collection bladder to increase the amount of helium gas collected and recycled.
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