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Liquid helium is a colorless transparent liquid, boiling at atmospheric pressure at a temperature of 4.2 K (liquid 4He). The density of liquid helium at a temperature of 4.2 K is 0.13 g/cm. Solid helium can be obtained only at pressures above 25 atm.

 

In industry, the helium is produced from natural gas geliysoderzhaschih. From other gases, helium is separated by deep cooling, using the fact that it liquefies harder all the other gases. Cooling produced by throttling in several stages purifying it from CO2 and hydrocarbons. The result is a mixture of helium, neon and hydrogen. This mixture, so called. crude helium, (He - 70-90% vol.) purified from hydrogen (4-5%) with CuO at 650-800 K. The final purification is achieved by cooling the remaining mixture boiling under vacuum and N2 adsorption of impurities on activated carbon in the adsorbers, also cooled by liquid N2. Produce helium purity (99.80% by volume of helium) and high purity (99.985%).

 

Liquid helium produced in the Division of Cryogenic Research at cryogenic liquefier Linde L1410, produced by German company Linde Process Plants, Inc. (LPP). The company Linde has a long history in the manufacture of equipment for refrigeration or liquefaction at very low temperatures. In 1932, Linde, the world's first industrial liquefaction of helium produced in the factory of the University of Kharkov in Ukraine. Since then, more than 500 plants have been built and operated worldwide, manufacturing facilities are located in Switzerland, Germany and the USA. Linde supplies devices and systems for most of the leading research institutions, laboratories and industrial companies engaged in gas extraction.

 

Schematic showing the main components of the liquefier.

Schematic representation of the liquefier system Linde L1410 / L1610
(1 - liquefier L1410 / L1610; 2 - the transfer of liquid helium 3 - Compressor, 4 - boards starter, 5 - Dewar, 6 - cylinder gas, 7 - returns the compressor 8 - cryogenic poglatitel 9 - raising and ballast tanks; 10 - filled up with pure helium cylinders, 11 - the repository of pure helium, 12 - cylinders for storing impure helium, 13 - Content LN2; 14 - Mobile Dewar, 15 - water-cooled)

 

Top view

 

Watch the video, as prepared by liquid helium liquefier Linde L1410:

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The use of liquid helium:

  • cryogenic liquid for obtaining and maintaining low and very low temperatures (mostly for research);
  • cooled superconducting magnets;
  • use in cryostats dissolution;
  • use in the tunnel scanning microscope;
  • particle accelerators, because the Large Hadron Collider in TsERHe used 96 tons of liquid helium to keep the temperature 1,9 K
  • cryogenic electric machines;
  • cooling infrared detectors and high-frequency radiation, SQUID magnetometers;
  • medical Technology.
 

Areas of work