Air Products Starts Up New Helium Plant

Air Products & Chemicals has started up what it calls the world’s only plant to extract helium from a carbon dioxide stream. Most helium is produced as a by-product of natural gas processing. The firm expects to produce up to 230 million cu ft of helium annually, replacing 15% of the Bureau of Land Management’s helium distribution as that system declines. Air Products will remove the helium from underground CO₂ extracted by Kinder Morgan in Doe Canyon, Colo. The purified CO₂ will then be piped to Texas where it will be used for enhanced oil recovery. Last year, Air Products opened a 200 million-cu-ft helium plant with partner Matheson Tri-Gas in Big Piney, Wyo.