10/20/2021 How is helium made?
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HowStuffWorks / Science / Physical Science / Chemistry / Chemical Elements
How Is Helium Made?
By: Patrick J. Kiger
|
Updated: Apr 19, 2021
Although helium is abundant in space, the type that is used for balloons and other purposes is extracted from natural gas and
not so easy to get at. IVAN SHUTOV/EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES
If you put helium in a balloon and let go of the balloon, the balloon will rise until it reaches a height of just under
33,000 feet (10 kilometers), at which point it will burst because the atmospheric pressure and the strength of the
balloon's skin won't be enough to withstand the pressure of the gas inside it [source: BBC Science Focus].
The helium that escapes is lighter than the other gases in the atmosphere, so has no reason to stop — it just
keeps going and leaks out into space. That's why there's only a trace amount of helium — 0.0005 percent — in
the atmosphere at any given time [source: Jefferson Lab].
Helium is abundant in space, where it's produced as a product of the fusion reaction inside stars such as the
sun. The naturally occurring helium on Earth, though, comes from a different sort of process. Deep inside the
Earth, radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium decay and turn into other elements. The byproduct of
these reactions are tiny fragments called a-particles, which consist of two neutrons and two protons. Those
particles pick up electrons from the environment around them and turn into helium, which gradually rises up
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10/20/2021 How is helium made? | HowStuffWorks
through the crust and is emitted into the atmosphere, where it keeps rising until it gets into space [source:
University of Pittsburgh].
Fortunately for us, helium also gets into the natural gas that oil and gas drillers extract from the ground for use
as fuel [source: University of Pittsburgh]. That gives us a supply that we can use for blowing up balloons, as well
as for a wide variety of other industrial processes, ranging from arc welding to MRIs to manufacturing silicon
chips for computers. There has to be a certain amount of helium in the natural gas — at least 0.3 percent by
volume – to justify all the trouble of separating it from natural gas. This is done through industrial processes that
filter other impurities, such as water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from the gas. Finally, a process called
cryogenic processing is used to cool the gas and remove the methane that makes up most of it, leaving behind
a crude form of helium that is about 50 to 70 percent pure, with small amounts of argon, neon and hydrogen
making up the rest. Then, the crude helium is purified through another cooling and filtering process that results
in a form of helium that's more than 99 percent pure [source: NAP].
The problem is that there aren't that many places with natural gas fields that have enough helium in them, and
extracting helium is hard to do efficiently and affordably and most of it comes from just a few sources, including
the U.S. government's National Helium Reserve in Texas. With so much demand for helium for industry, there
just isn't enough to go around. That shortage has hurt businesses such as Party City, a party supplies company,
which is set to close 45 of its stores in 2019 [source: Gibson].
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Sources
BBC Science Focus. "How high can a helium balloon float? " Sciencefocus.com. (May 13, 2019)
https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/how-high-can-a-helium-balloon-float/
Gibson, Kate. "Deflated by helium shortage, Party City to close 45 stores." CBS News. May 10, 2019.
(May 13, 2019) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/party-city-helium-to-close-45-tores/
Jefferson Lab. "The Element Helium. " Education.jlab.org. (May 13, 2019)
https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele002.htmlNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering and
Medicine. "The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve. " Nap.edu. 2000. (May 13, 2019)
https://www.nap.edu/read/9860/chapter/7
University of Pittsburgh. "Helium: Sources and Uses." Researchservices.pitt.edu. (May 13, 2019)
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10/20/2021 How is helium made? | HowStuffWorks
Originally Published: Apr 1, 2000
How Is Helium Made FAQ
How is helium formed?
The radioactive decay of thorium and uranium causes the formation of helium. They are extremely
unstable and tend to decay.
Where do we get helium gas from?
Almost all helium is extracted from natural gas. This supply of helium comes from underground gas fields
that are located in the U.S. and Russia.
How do people collect helium?
Helium is mined alongside natural gas. This is a long process where a drill is used to drill wells very deep
into the crust of the Earth. The drill rig has to penetrate the layer of the crust called Cap Rock in order to
reach any natural gas reserves.
Can helium be made artificially?
Helium can be found in abundance all over the universe. In fact, it is the second most abundant element
known to man. Because of its chemical composition, it is not possible to produce helium artificially, which
is why it is extracted from natural gas wells.
Who uses the most helium?
The largest consumer of helium is NASA, which uses around 75 million cubic feet of helium. This is
closely followed by the U.S. Department of Defense, which uses helium to cool oxygen and hydrogen
used as rocket fuel.
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