As you may be already familiar, one of the most widely used tracer gas types for leak testing is helium. It is safe and efficient for leak testing in a production setting because it is an inert gas that is neither harmful nor combustible. Because of its high demand, helium supplies can sometimes be expensive. Also a lot of producers include a helium recovery system in their production processes to collect and recycle their helium supply for later use. You may more effectively control the amount of helium you consume, save production costs, increase plant sustainability, and lessen the impact of any future helium shortages by implementing an automated helium recycling system.
Components associated with the Helium Recovery System
Before being sent to the liquid helium plant, the system cycles helium first to an atmospheric helium recovery bag, then compresses it using a recovery compressor, moves it to storage cylinders, and then purifies it using an automatic purifier.
Atmospheric Helium Recovery Bags
The Recovery Bag is composed of a sturdy polymer material with a vinyl basis. When the bag is filled, laser positioning sensors initiate the recovery compressor (explained below), and when the bag is empty, the compressor stops. For atmospheric helium gas storage, many customers favor Cryomech's straightforward, efficient design since it prevents overpressurizing their instruments, which might have unfavorable consequences like raised LHe bath temperatures.
Recuperation Compressor
The high-pressure option reaches a pressure of up to 2,400 PSIG (165.47 bar), while the Medium-Pressure Recovery Compressor compresses the helium gas held in the Recovery Bag in the atmosphere to a pressure of up to 400 PSIG. Zero helium loss is possible due to the hermetically sealed system design and complete automatic operation. The Medium-Pressure Recovery Compressor has a recovery rate of around 8.5 SCFM, or 20 liquid liters per hour, while the High-Pressure Recovery Compressor has a recovery rate of approximately 5.1 SCFM, or 10 liquid liters per hour.
Cylinders for Storage and Manifold
Through a stainless steel manifold, the compressed helium gas that exits the Recovery Compressor at 400 PSIG (27.58 bar) or 2,400 PSIG (29.3 bar) pressures enters the Storage Cylinders. To control the flow of helium to the helium purifier, a pressure regulator is fastened to the manifold's outlet. The capacity of each Medium-Pressure Storage Cylinder is approximately 17 liquid liters of helium, whereas the High-Pressure Storage Cylinder has a capacity of approximately 11 liquid liters.
Self-Contained Purifier
Accompanying liquid nitrogen-cooled purifiers on the market is an Automatic Helium Purifier. In contrast to liquid nitrogen-cooled purifiers that necessitate monthly trap renewal and weekly liquid nitrogen replenishment, the Automatic Purifier operates perpetually without any user interaction or unexpected vessel repair. Cryocooler provides trap cooling, and the purifier comes with all the tools needed to regenerate the trap. When the trap needs to be regenerated, a PLC with a 5-inch touchscreen detects this automatically and executes the regeneration procedure effectively. Regeneration downtime can only last for a maximum of eight hours.
About the Investment
Helium reclaim systems are generally a useful addition to any production line or test that consumes significant volumes of helium, such as high-pressure tests with high throughput rates or leak testing.
- If an individual is only considering the expenses related to a helium recovery system, ROI can be easily calculated. Finding the helium consumption per part and multiplying it by the helium price per liter and the total number of parts produced annually is the simplest method for computing this.
- This provides them with their annual helium cost. Then, to balance the investment against possible savings, this can be contrasted with the price of installing a helium recovery system.
- People's objectives will ultimately determine whether or not it is worthwhile to install a helium recycling system on the production line. Consider installing a helium recovery system on your production line for the sole purpose of increasing sustainability and reducing your reliance on an unstable resource.
