Arizona State University – Helium Recovery Project

The Helium Recovery Project at the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 1 in Tempe, Arizona at ASU involved the installation of a helium recovery system intended to capture helium off-gas from the facility’s seven (7) NMR spectrometers (magnets) so that it may be recovered and reused in the process.  As a finite resource, helium comes at a considerable expense, and recovery is key to preserving this non-renewable element.  The lab utilizes helium for its ability to cool the super-conducting magnets to extremely low temperatures necessary to provide ultimate conductivity.  This project allows the lab to collect, purify, and re-liquify the helium for reuse.

This project included the design of the following items:

1. A new helium collection system within the existing NMR lab; consisting of collection manifolds, collection header pipe, and a helium collection bag on a ceiling-hung support structure.
2. A new helium purification plant that prepares the used helium for reuse.
3. A new purified helium storage rack of tanks.