Helium Shortage!

[ExiledInIllinois]

The world's coming to an end.   What will all the parties out there do!

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1169464001

 

From my ShoutBox Shouts, few questions I have:

 

Somebody please enlighten me on why there is a "helium shortage" and why we are shutting down the national helium reserve in 2021 when we have a 200 year supply @ current consumption. ???

 

Isn't helium an inert/noble gas? Harmless abundant in universe?

 

This smells like enviro do-gooders trying to wreck a party... LoL... Don't they extract argon, helium out of thin air for industrial purposes?

 

 

 

 

 

[WhoTom]

Hydrogen and helium are the two most abundant elements in the universe; unfortunately, most of it is locked up in stars. Although I did hear of an engineering school dropout who devised a plan to mine the sun at night.

 

 

 

 

[Nextmanup]

Helium needs to be manufactured if I'm not mistaken.

 

Ever wonder why the Hindenburg was filled with explosive hydrogen and not helium?

 

At that time, the US had a monopoly on helium production (mostly coming from Texas I believe) and we banned its export particularly to Germany under the Nazi regime.    There were fears it would be used for weapons programs.  So the Germans had to go with hydrogen instead. 

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

8 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Helium needs to be manufactured if I'm not mistaken.

 

Ever wonder why the Hindenburg was filled with explosive hydrogen and not helium?

 

At that time, the US had a monopoly on helium production (mostly coming from Texas I believe) and we banned its export particularly to Germany under the Nazi regime.    There were fears it would be used for weapons programs.  So the Germans had to go with hydrogen instead. 

 

 

Yes. I knew that.  US cornered the He market.

 

My BiL is an engineer for a company that builds systems for industry to produce (extract) gases like argon.  I should probably ask him what's up.

 

I was wondering why they are shutting down the He reserve.  If anybody knows, this board is great... Many players that may know first hand.

 

Anyway... Seems like we are living a 1930s do over without that pesky Depression.  Okay... J/K... Maybe.  ?

Edited May 11, 2019 by ExiledInIllinois

[/dev/null]

38 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

Hydrogen and helium are the two most abundant elements in the universe; unfortunately, most of it is locked up in stars.

 

 

The most abundant resource in the universe is stupidity; unfortunately most of it is on Earth

[US Egg]

49 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

Hydrogen and helium are the two most abundant elements in the universe; unfortunately, most of it is locked up in stars. Although I did hear of an engineering school dropout who devised a plan to mine the sun at night.

 

Elon Musk to the rescue again ? 

 

The Mighty Mouse of the 21st Century with an ability to tap into others pockets, government and private, like no one before.

 

(I know, don't hate the player....) 

Edited May 11, 2019 by I am the egg man

[ExiledInIllinois]

10 minutes ago, I am the egg man said:

 

Elon Musk to the rescue again ? 

 

The Mighty Mouse of the 21st Century with an ability to tap into others pockets, government and private, like no one before.

 

(I know, don't hate the player....) 

The Howard Hughes of our time.

 

(Will he) He will be shuffling around a hotel room with Kleenex® boxes as slippers in 30 years?

Edited May 11, 2019 by ExiledInIllinois

[PromoTheRobot]

All you have to do is fly to Saturn or Jupiter and suck up some helium from the atmosphere. Easy peasy

[bbb]

1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

The world's coming to an end.   What will all the parties out there do!

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1169464001

 

From my ShoutBox Shouts, few questions I have:

 

Somebody please enlighten me on why there is a "helium shortage" and why we are shutting down the national helium reserve in 2021 when we have a 200 year supply @ current consumption. ???

 

Isn't helium an inert/noble gas? Harmless abundant in universe?

 

This smells like enviro do-gooders trying to wreck a party... LoL... Don't they extract argon, helium out of thin air for industrial purposes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of months ago, somebody semi-famous (Oh, I remember now - some female Olympian - I think a bicyclist) committed suicide via helium.................I was like, what?  You can die from helium?  

 

Turns out it's a relatively painless way to die, so it has been becoming a more popular way to commit suicide, so now they have been taking tighter controls of it.  Not sure if that has to with this, but it seems it might.  

[/dev/null]

5 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

All you have to do is fly to Saturn or Jupiter and suck up some helium from the atmosphere. Easy peasy

 

And what happens when Jupiter and Saturn run out?  You'll have to suck it out of Uranus

[WhoTom]

1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Anyway... Seems like we are living a 1930s do over without that pesky Depression.  Okay... J/K... Maybe.  ?

 

The decade ain't over yet.

 

[DC Tom]

2 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

The world's coming to an end.   What will all the parties out there do!

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1169464001

 

From my ShoutBox Shouts, few questions I have:

 

Somebody please enlighten me on why there is a "helium shortage" and why we are shutting down the national helium reserve in 2021 when we have a 200 year supply @ current consumption. ???

 

Isn't helium an inert/noble gas? Harmless abundant in universe?

 

This smells like enviro do-gooders trying to wreck a party... LoL... Don't they extract argon, helium out of thin air for industrial purposes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shortage is probably pure helium, not the "crude" helium in party balloons.  Helium's not extremely rare, given that it's just a product of alpha decay.  

 

The problem is that it's difficult to retrieve.  Usually, it's a byproduct of natural gas distillation - when natural gas is purified, helium is one of the remaining impurities.  If you cryogenically distill those impurities (cool it to the point that other gasses precipitate out as liquids), you can eventually get pure helium.  The problem being: that's really ***** cold - about 73 Kelvin.  It takes a lot of energy to cool something to that temperature while maintaining a pressure high enough to condense impurities like methane and nitrogen to liquids.  

 

And while you can theoretically do that with regular air...helium's about 10,000 times more prevalent in natural gas (5ppm in atmospher, vs. ~5% in natural gas).   Which means it's not just difficult to retrieve it from air, it's hideously difficult to retrieve from air.  

 

[Punching Bag]

https://askzephyr.com/make-your-own-helium-for-balloons/

Helium is the result of the very long, very slow decay of radioactive atoms like uranium. The alpha particles that are emitted from the decaying atom bond with loose electrons underground, producing helium atoms. Currently, this natural process is the only method with which helium is produced on Earth.

3 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

I was wondering why they are shutting down the He reserve.  If anybody knows, this board is great... Many players that may know first hand.

 

"In 1996, the US Congress decided to sell off the strategic reserve and the consequence was that the market was swelled with cheap helium because its price was not determined by the market. The motivation was to sell it all by 2015," he once told The Independent. "The basic problem is that helium is too cheap. The Earth is 4.7 billion years old and it has taken that long to accumulate our helium reserves, which we will dissipate in about 100 years. One generation does not have the right to determine availability for ever."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/06/discovery-of-massive-new-helium-reserves-is-game-changer-for-medical-industry/

 

[Punching Bag]

Fortunately new reserves have been found in Tanzania

https://www.gasworld.com/global-helium-summit-2018-closes/2015512.article

https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sectors/energy/tanzania-could-become-top-helium-producer/

 

 

It is no coincidence helium shortage is corresponding to increase in use of MRIs used by former NFL athletes to shop for doctors to get the most out of NFL trust fund set up for neurological issues.

[DC Tom]

1 hour ago, Limeaid said:

It is no coincidence helium shortage is corresponding to increase in use of MRIs used by former NFL athletes to shop for doctors to get the most out of NFL trust fund set up for neurological issues.

 

You're kidding, right?

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, DC Tom said:

 

You're kidding, right?

LoL... I hope so.  /smh That don't seem like a huge use of He.  

 

I think they said that MRI won't be affected and causing the shortage.  Closing down reserve I believe is the reason.

[Cripple Creek]

6 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

The world's coming to an end.   What will all the parties out there do!

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1169464001

 

From my ShoutBox Shouts, few questions I have:

 

Somebody please enlighten me on why there is a "helium shortage" and why we are shutting down the national helium reserve in 2021 when we have a 200 year supply @ current consumption. ???

 

Isn't helium an inert/noble gas? Harmless abundant in universe?

 

This smells like enviro do-gooders trying to wreck a party... LoL... Don't they extract argon, helium out of thin air for industrial purposes?

 

With all your hot air I'm not worried about anything.

[Q-baby!]

3 hours ago, DC Tom said:

 

The shortage is probably pure helium, not the "crude" helium in party balloons.  Helium's not extremely rare, given that it's just a product of alpha decay.  

 

The problem is that it's difficult to retrieve.  Usually, it's a byproduct of natural gas distillation - when natural gas is purified, helium is one of the remaining impurities.  If you cryogenically distill those impurities (cool it to the point that other gasses precipitate out as liquids), you can eventually get pure helium.  The problem being: that's really ***** cold - about 73 Kelvin.  It takes a lot of energy to cool something to that temperature while maintaining a pressure high enough to condense impurities like methane and nitrogen to liquids.  

 

And while you can theoretically do that with regular air...helium's about 10,000 times more prevalent in natural gas (5ppm in atmospher, vs. ~5% in natural gas).   Which means it's not just difficult to retrieve it from air, it's hideously difficult to retrieve from air.  

 

What a load of horse *****. You can get it at any party store. It is easily extracted from one of those big tanks. 

[Punching Bag]

1 hour ago, DC Tom said:

 

You're kidding, right?

 

Of course.

 

Other than NFL athletes ARE shopping around to get biggest payment and the fund is going dry early.

[The Senator]

2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

It is no coincidence helium shortage is corresponding to increase in use of MRIs used by former NFL athletes to shop for doctors to get the most out of NFL trust fund set up for neurological issues.

 

You ARE kidding, yes?  You must be.

 

I don’t want to exaggerate, but I’ve had at least, at the very least, 20 or 30 MRIs. Am going for my next one this Thursday.

 

I have no neurological issues, just quite a bit of cancer, and, never before, but now, claustrophobia.

 

I love the drugs they give me (valium/ativan) before they stuff me in that loud coffin for half an hour or so, but those soporifics really don’t comfort me, keep me awake, nor make me less claustrophobic.

 

Are you saying that, if I went to the Dollar Store and bought a bunch of helium balloons beforehand, it’d be better?

 

 I’ll have to try that curative. And inform my oncologists.

.

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

19 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

You ARE kidding, yes?  You must be.

 

I don’t want to exaggerate, but I’ve had at least, at the very least, 20 or 30 MRIs. Am going for my next one this Thursday.

 

I have no neurological issues, just quite a bit of cancer, and, never before, but now, claustrophobia.

 

I love the drugs they give me (valium/ativan) before they stuff me in that loud coffin for half an hour or so, but those soporifics really don’t comfort me, keep me awake, nor make me less claustrophobic.

 

Are you saying that, if I went to the Dollar Store and bought a bunch of helium balloons beforehand, it’d be better?

 

 I’ll have to try that curative. And inform my oncologists.

.

 

 

You helium abuser!

 

We have methods for your type!

 

?    

 

There was this guy:

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-priest-lost/brazil-priest-flying-party-balloons-lost-at-sea-idUSN2228192120080422

 

They found him a few months later:

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/balloon-priests-body-identified-using-dna/

 

Has it really been 11 years? Seems like yesterday!

 

 

 

[The Senator]

34 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

You helium abuser!

 

We have methods for your type!

 

?    

 

There was this guy:

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-priest-lost/brazil-priest-flying-party-balloons-lost-at-sea-idUSN2228192120080422

 

They found him a few months later:

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/balloon-priests-body-identified-using-dna/

 

Has it really been 11 years? Seems like yesterday!

 

 

 

 

OMFG, almost lost it, laughing so loud!

 

”Father, an experienced pilot,  also had a ‘boy in chair’, searching for truck drivers?”

 

Serves ‘im right - those Jesuits will do just about anything, searching the planet for young boys!

 

Still, I need my helium balloons!

 

(The fentynal, dilaudid, morphine, et al,  are not as effective.)

.

Edited May 12, 2019 by The Senator

[apuszczalowski]

There was a sign on the door to the dollar store today saying they did not have helium, also an article about 45 Party City stores closing due to the shortage.

[/dev/null]

39 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

 

 

 

 

Brazilian priest, that's like a lot of priests

[The Senator]

1 minute ago, apuszczalowski said:

There was a sign on the door to the dollar store today saying they did not have helium, also an article about 45 Party City stores closing due to the shortage.

 

Dammit all to hell, now I’m going under the knife without my balloons?

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

25 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

OMFG, almost lost it, laughing so loud!

 

”Father, an experienced pilot,  also had a ‘boy in chair’, searching for truck drivers?”

 

Serves ‘im right - those Jesuits will do just about anything, searching the planet for young boys!

 

Still, I need my helium balloons!

 

(The fentynal, dilaudid, morphine, et al,  are not as effective.)

.

It's a boatswain (bosun's) chair.  LoL... Too funny: "Boys in chair."

 

 

 

[The Senator]

39 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

It's a boatswain (bosun's) chair.  LoL... Too funny: "Boys in chair."

 

 

 

 

As an honor student at a prominent Jesuit school on Delaware Avenue, my parents and I were oft invited to dine with Father Rector President in the adjacent residence (or some restauranr, usually of his choosing).

 

The young Jesuit scholastics had such chairs for young boys, I’m sure, but, like many things, kept them ‘in the closet’!

 

Anyway, we got a real problem here ... can you guys fix this?

 

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/black-rock-locks-delayed-in-opening-for-spring/1995167835

.

 

 

[DC Tom]

2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Of course.

 

Other than NFL athletes ARE shopping around to get biggest payment and the fund is going dry early.

 

There's no "of course" these days.

 

And MRIs are one of the biggest uses of purified helium. 

[The Senator]

1 minute ago, DC Tom said:

MRIs are one of the biggest uses of purified helium. 

 

Really?

 

I’ve had at least 30 MRIs, never once administered helium of any sort.  Does that go on in the ‘back room’’where they don’t dare walk in the room?

 

Or where they shout in my headphones about how uncomfortable I am,  and ask if I’d prefer some different inaudible music?

 

I’m not challenging you, just asking if you know something I don’t, and can maybe enlighten me.

 

All i know about MRIs is, you’re gonna be very uncomfortable for 30/40 minutes, loud noise and instructions barking in your ears, and  better be bare-assed naked, with no metal in your body.  (Lucky for me, whoopee, all my plates snd screws are titanium.)

 

You maybe know something about MRIs that I don’t?

.

[DC Tom]

1 hour ago, The Senator said:

 

Really?

 

I’ve had at least 30 MRIs, never once administered helium of any sort.  Does that go on in the ‘back room’’where they don’t dare walk in the room?

 

Or where they shout in my headphones about how uncomfortable I am,  and ask if I’d prefer some different inaudible music?

 

I’m not challenging you, just asking if you know something I don’t, and can maybe enlighten me.

 

All i know about MRIs is, you’re gonna be very uncomfortable for 30/40 minutes, loud noise and instructions barking in your ears, and  better be bare-assed naked, with no metal in your body.  (Lucky for me, whoopee, all my plates snd screws are titanium.)

 

You maybe know something about MRIs that I don’t?

.

 

Liquid helium is used to supercool the magnetic coils inside the machine.  

 

It's not consumed, but even in a closed-cycle zero-loss cryogenic unit there is some boil-off.  But a single MRI machine can need as much as 400 gallons or so of liquid helium.  In comparison, the Goodyear Blimp uses around 3000 gallons for lift (a much greater volume of gas, but that's the rough equivalent of you condensed the blimp's helium to a liquid.  That'a a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation - literally, for once.  I did it on the back of an envelope sitting on my desk.  )  

 

But there's only three blimps.  Whereas about 3000 MRI machines are sold each year.  So that's 10000 gallons for blimps, vs. 1.2 million for new MRI machines annually.  So the medical imaging industry uses a hell of a lot of helium - I have to admit, I was shocked enough at those numbers that I did the caluclation four times.  And the economics of it is probably even more imbalanced, since cryogenics needs "refined" helium (99.9% pure), whereas the Goodyear blimp can probably get away with using "raw" helium (85% or so pure), which is significantly easier to produce.

[ExiledInIllinois]

8 hours ago, The Senator said:

 

As an honor student at a prominent Jesuit school on Delaware Avenue, my parents and I were oft invited to dine with Father Rector President in the adjacent residence (or some restauranr, usually of his choosing).

 

The young Jesuit scholastics had such chairs for young boys, I’m sure, but, like many things, kept them ‘in the closet’!

 

Anyway, we got a real problem here ... can you guys fix this?

 

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/black-rock-locks-delayed-in-opening-for-spring/1995167835

.

 

 

Yes.  I can fix it.  I worked there at one time.

 

But, can't help you.  They had all winter to fix it.  We have been running 24/7/365 here in S.Chicago since 1959. There has never been a time when a person was NOT here (like I am now). Here, probably 10s of 1,000s more cycles a year and never had "hinge problems."  In fact we just replaced the pintle and hinges in 2014-15 when we had a dewater in the winter.  Closed for November, passed traffic in December & January and then dewatered other gates in February.

 

What the hell is USACE-BFLo District doing? They are closed all winter. And don't run 24 hours a day.  They don't have a midnight shift.  Get out there and fix before the God awfully short navigation season in BFLo gets under way!

 

Those gates @ BlackRockLox have been replaced how many times since 1913?

6 hours ago, DC Tom said:

 

Liquid helium is used to supercool the magnetic coils inside the machine.  

 

It's not consumed, but even in a closed-cycle zero-loss cryogenic unit there is some boil-off.  But a single MRI machine can need as much as 400 gallons or so of liquid helium.  In comparison, the Goodyear Blimp uses around 3000 gallons for lift (a much greater volume of gas, but that's the rough equivalent of you condensed the blimp's helium to a liquid.  That'a a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation - literally, for once.  I did it on the back of an envelope sitting on my desk.  )  

 

But there's only three blimps.  Whereas about 3000 MRI machines are sold each year.  So that's 10000 gallons for blimps, vs. 1.2 million for new MRI machines annually.  So the medical imaging industry uses a hell of a lot of helium - I have to admit, I was shocked enough at those numbers that I did the caluclation four times.  And the economics of it is probably even more imbalanced, since cryogenics needs "refined" helium (99.9% pure), whereas the Goodyear blimp can probably get away with using "raw" helium (85% or so pure), which is significantly easier to produce.

So... What are you saying?  You're an idiot for doubting @Limeaid?

 

LoL... Last time I trust you just blindly!  ?

Edited May 12, 2019 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

You've been knocked down to my secondary source!  LoL... 

[Mark80]

16 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

All you have to do is fly to Saturn or Jupiter and suck up some helium from the atmosphere. Easy peasy

 

Well, they made it look pretty easy in Spaceballs.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Mark80

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Mark80 said:

 

Well, they made it look pretty easy in Spaceballs.

 

 

[Marv's Neighbor]

I remember back in the late 50's. the Macy's Thanksgiving parade had to use mobile cranes to "carry" the balloons.  They inflated with air, but wouldn't float. At the time, they said there was a shortage because of the demands of the space program.  I think that only lasted for that one year.

[Reed83HOF]

10 hours ago, DC Tom said:

 

Liquid helium is used to supercool the magnetic coils inside the machine.  

 

It's not consumed, but even in a closed-cycle zero-loss cryogenic unit there is some boil-off.  But a single MRI machine can need as much as 400 gallons or so of liquid helium.  In comparison, the Goodyear Blimp uses around 3000 gallons for lift (a much greater volume of gas, but that's the rough equivalent of you condensed the blimp's helium to a liquid.  That'a a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation - literally, for once.  I did it on the back of an envelope sitting on my desk.  )  

 

But there's only three blimps.  Whereas about 3000 MRI machines are sold each year.  So that's 10000 gallons for blimps, vs. 1.2 million for new MRI machines annually.  So the medical imaging industry uses a hell of a lot of helium - I have to admit, I was shocked enough at those numbers that I did the caluclation four times.  And the economics of it is probably even more imbalanced, since cryogenics needs "refined" helium (99.9% pure), whereas the Goodyear blimp can probably get away with using "raw" helium (85% or so pure), which is significantly easier to produce.

 

Who still uses envelopes?

[DC Tom]

1 hour ago, Reed83HOF said:

 

Who still uses envelopes?

 

Health insurance companies.

[WhoTom]

1 hour ago, Reed83HOF said:

 

Who still uses envelopes?

 

1 minute ago, DC Tom said:

 

Health insurance companies.

 

I think they're invested in the paper industry. Last week I got a letter explaining how much my insurance would cover for my recent visit to the eye doctor. That was one sheet of paper to explain the benefit and a twelve-page booklet outlining the grievance procedure if I wanted to complain. Nowhere is there any option for me to get this information electronically. I can't imagine why the cost of health insurance is so high.

 

[Reed83HOF]

15 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

 

Health insurance companies.

That's a good point

[DC Tom]

12 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

 

I think they're invested in the paper industry. Last week I got a letter explaining how much my insurance would cover for my recent visit to the eye doctor. That was one sheet of paper to explain the benefit and a twelve-page booklet outlining the grievance procedure if I wanted to complain. Nowhere is there any option for me to get this information electronically. I can't imagine why the cost of health insurance is so high.

 

 

We've gotten mail from insurers that consisted of nothing but one page saying "This Page Intentionally Left Blank."