Editing Helium (section)

==Occurrence and production==

===Natural abundance===
Although it is rare on Earth, helium is the second most abundant element in the known Universe, constituting 23% of its [[baryon]]ic mass. Only hydrogen is more abundant.<ref name="nbb" /> The vast majority of helium was formed by [[Big Bang nucleosynthesis]] one to three minutes after the Big Bang. As such, measurements of its abundance contribute to cosmological models. In [[star]]s, it is formed by the [[nuclear fusion]] of hydrogen in [[proton–proton chain|proton–proton chain reaction]]s and the [[CNO cycle]], part of [[stellar nucleosynthesis]].<ref name="bigbang">{{cite web|author=Weiss, Achim|title=Elements of the past: Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and observation|url=http://www.einstein-online.info/spotlights/BBN_obs/?set_language=en|publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics]]|access-date=2008-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729042805/http://www.einstein-online.info/spotlights/BBN_obs/?set_language=en|archive-date=2010-07-29|url-status=dead}}; {{Cite journal|last1=Coc | first1=Alain | last2=Vangioni-Flam |first2=Elisabeth| last3=Descouvemont |first3=Pierre|last4=Adahchour | first4=Abderrahim|last5= Angulo | first5=Carmen |title=Updated Big Bang Nucleosynthesis confronted to WMAP observations and to the Abundance of Light Elements|journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]]| volume=600 |year=2004|issue=2| pages=544–552 |doi=10.1086/380121|bibcode=2004ApJ...600..544C|arxiv = astro-ph/0309480| s2cid=16276658 }}</ref>

In the [[Earth's atmosphere]], the concentration of helium by volume is only 5.2 parts per million.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Oliver, B. M.|author2=Bradley, James G.|date=1984 |title= Helium concentration in the Earth's lower atmosphere |journal=Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta |volume=48 |issue=9 |pages=1759–1767 |doi=10.1016/0016-7037(84)90030-9|bibcode = 1984GeCoA..48.1759O }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srh.weather.gov/jetstream/atmos/atmos_intro.htm |title=The Atmosphere: Introduction |website=JetStream&nbsp;– Online School for Weather |publisher=[[National Weather Service]] |date = 2007-08-29 |access-date = 2008-07-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080113234621/http://www.srh.weather.gov/jetstream/atmos/atmos_intro.htm |archive-date = January 13, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The concentration is low and fairly constant despite the continuous production of new helium because most helium in the Earth's atmosphere [[atmospheric escape|escapes into space]] by several processes.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Lie-Svendsen, Ø.|author2=Rees, M. H.|date=1996 |title=Helium escape from the terrestrial atmosphere: The ion outflow mechanism |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=101 |issue=A2 |pages=2435–2444 |doi=10.1029/95JA02208|bibcode=1996JGR...101.2435L}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s3.htm|title=Atmospheres|website=Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes|date=2007|access-date=2007-09-25|author=Strobel, Nick|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919031142/http://astronomynotes.com//solarsys/s3.htm|archive-date=2010-09-19|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TalkOriginsCreationism">{{cite web|author=G. Brent Dalrymple|title=How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments?|url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dalrymple/creationist_age_earth.html|access-date=2011-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607162749/http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dalrymple/creationist_age_earth.html|archive-date=2011-06-07|url-status=live}}</ref> In the Earth's [[heterosphere]], a part of the upper atmosphere, helium and hydrogen are the most abundant elements.

Most helium on Earth is a result of [[radioactive decay]]. Helium is found in large amounts in minerals of [[uranium]] and [[thorium]], including [[uraninite]] and its varieties [[cleveite]] and [[pitchblende]],<ref name="mindat cleveite" /><ref name="mindat pitchblende">{{cite web |url=https://www.mindat.org/min-3222.html |title=Pitchblende |website=Mindat.org |access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> [[carnotite]] and [[monazite]] (a group name; "monazite" usually refers to [[monazite-(Ce)]]),<ref name="mindat monazite">{{cite web |url=https://www.mindat.org/min-2750.html |title=Monazite |website=Mindat.org |access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="mindat monaziteCe">{{cite web |url=https://www.mindat.org/min-2751.html |title=Monazite-(Ce) |website=Mindat.org |access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> because they emit alpha particles (helium nuclei, He<sup>2+</sup>) to which electrons immediately combine as soon as the particle is stopped by the rock. In this way an estimated 3000 metric tons of helium are generated per year throughout the [[lithosphere]].<ref name="cook">{{Cite journal|author=Cook, Melvine A. |date=1957 |title=Where is the Earth's Radiogenic Helium? |journal= Nature |volume=179|issue=4552 |page=213 |doi=10.1038/179213a0|bibcode = 1957Natur.179..213C |s2cid=4297697 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author= Aldrich, L. T.|author2= Nier, Alfred O.|date=1948 |title=The Occurrence of He<sup>3</sup> in Natural Sources of Helium |journal = Phys. Rev. |volume=74|issue= 11 |pages= 1590–1594 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.74.1590|bibcode = 1948PhRv...74.1590A }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author=Morrison, P.|author2=Pine, J.|date=1955 |title= Radiogenic Origin of the Helium Isotopes in Rock |journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=71–92 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.1955.tb35366.x|bibcode = 1955NYASA..62...71M |s2cid=85015694}}</ref> In the Earth's crust, the concentration of helium is 8 parts per billion. In seawater, the concentration is only 4 parts per trillion. There are also small amounts in mineral [[spring (hydrosphere)|springs]], volcanic gas, and [[meteoric iron]]. Because helium is trapped in the subsurface under conditions that also trap natural gas, the greatest natural concentrations of helium on the planet are found in natural gas, from which most commercial helium is extracted. The concentration varies in a broad range from a few ppm to more than 7% in a small gas field in [[San Juan County, New Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Zartman, R. E. |date=1961 |title=Helium Argon and Carbon in Natural Gases |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=277–306 |doi=10.1029/JZ066i001p00277 |last2=Wasserburg |first2=G. J. |last3=Reynolds |first3=J. H. |bibcode=1961JGR....66..277Z |url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/51508/1/jgr2272.pdf |access-date=2019-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809221530/http://authors.library.caltech.edu/51508/1/jgr2272.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-09 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Broadhead|first=Ronald F. |date=2005 |title= Helium in New Mexico—geology distribution resource demand and exploration possibilities |journal = New Mexico Geology |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=93–101 |doi=10.58799/NMG-v27n4.93 |s2cid=29360086 |url=http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/nmg/downloads/27/n4/nmg_v27_n4_p93.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330094105/http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/nmg/downloads/27/n4/nmg_v27_n4_p93.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-30|access-date=2008-07-21}}</ref>

{{as of|2021}}, the world's helium reserves were estimated at 31 billion cubic meters, with a third of that being in [[Qatar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-helium.pdf|title=Helium|work=Mineral Commodity Summaries|publisher=U.S. geological survey|date=January 2021|access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref> In 2015 and 2016 additional probable reserves were announced to be under the Rocky Mountains in North America<ref>{{cite web|title=Press release: The unbearable lightness of helium...|url=http://www.eag.eu.com/about/media/lightness-of-helium/|website=European Association of Geochemistry|access-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906100157/http://www.eag.eu.com/about/media/lightness-of-helium/|archive-date=2015-09-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> and in the [[East African Rift]].<ref name="Sample" />

The [[Bureau of Land Management]] (BLM) has proposed an October 2024 plan for managing natural resources in western Colorado. The plan involves closing 543,000 acres to oil and gas leasing while keeping 692,300 acres open. Among the open areas, 165,700 acres have been identified as suitable for helium recovery. The United States possesses an estimated 306 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium, sufficient to meet current consumption rates of 2.15 billion cubic feet per year for approximately 150 years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Rom | first=Zoë | title=How a dwindling helium supply is impacting public land management | website=High Country News | date=2024-11-18 | url=https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-a-dwindling-helium-supply-is-impacting-public-land-management/ | access-date=2024-11-24}}</ref>

===Modern extraction and distribution===
{{see also|Helium production in the United States}}
For large-scale use, helium is extracted by [[fractional distillation]] from natural gas, which can contain as much as 7% helium.<ref>{{cite web| author = Winter, Mark| title = Helium: the essentials| publisher = University of Sheffield| date = 2008| url = http://www.webelements.com/helium/| access-date = 2008-07-14| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080714102813/http://www.webelements.com/helium/| archive-date = 2008-07-14| url-status = live}}</ref> Since helium has a lower [[boiling point]] than any other element, low temperatures and high pressure are used to liquefy nearly all the other gases (mostly [[nitrogen]] and [[methane]]). The resulting crude helium gas is purified by successive exposures to lowering temperatures, in which almost all of the remaining nitrogen and other gases are precipitated out of the gaseous mixture. [[Activated charcoal]] is used as a final purification step, usually resulting in 99.995% pure Grade-A helium.<ref name="enc" /> The principal impurity in Grade-A helium is [[neon]]. In a final production step, most of the helium that is produced is liquefied via a [[cryogenic]] process. This is necessary for applications requiring liquid helium and also allows helium suppliers to reduce the cost of long-distance transportation, as the largest liquid helium containers have more than five times the capacity of the largest gaseous helium tube trailers.<ref name="wwsupply" /><ref>{{cite conference| author = Cai, Z. | display-authors = etal|title = Modelling Helium Markets| publisher = University of Cambridge| date = 2007| url = http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/phd/downloads/conference_spring2007/papers/cai.pdf| access-date = 2008-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326072513/http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/phd/downloads/conference_spring2007/papers/cai.pdf|archive-date=2009-03-26}}</ref>

In 2008, approximately 169 million [[standard cubic meter]]s (SCM) of helium were extracted from natural gas or withdrawn from helium reserves, with approximately 78% from the United States, 10% from Algeria, and most of the remainder from Russia, Poland, and Qatar.<ref>{{cite conference| title = Helium| work = Mineral Commodity Summaries| pages = 74–75| publisher = U.S. Geological Survey| date = 2009| url = http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/helium/mcs-2009-heliu.pdf| access-date = 2009-12-19| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090814020157/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/helium/mcs-2009-heliu.pdf| archive-date = 2009-08-14| url-status = live}}</ref> By 2013, increases in helium production in Qatar (under the company [[Qatargas]] managed by [[Air Liquide]]) had increased Qatar's fraction of world helium production to 25%, making it the second largest exporter after the United States.<ref name="bloomberg.com">{{Cite web|title=Air Liquide and Linde in Helium Hunt as Texas Reserves Dry Up|publisher=Bloomberg|year=2014|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-10/air-liquide-and-linde-in-helium-hunt-as-texas-reserves-dry-up|access-date=2017-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310193243/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-10/air-liquide-and-linde-in-helium-hunt-as-texas-reserves-dry-up|archive-date=2017-03-10|url-status=live}}</ref>
An estimated {{convert|54|e9ft3}} deposit of helium was found in Tanzania in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36651048|work=BBC News|title=Helium discovery a 'game-changer'|first=Helen|last=Briggs|date=28 June 2016|access-date=2016-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628131948/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36651048|archive-date=28 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A large-scale helium plant was opened in [[Ningxia]], [[China]] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|title=China opens first large-scale helium plant as it tries to reduce reliance on US imports|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3094905/china-opens-first-large-scale-helium-plant-it-tries-reduce|last=Chen|first=Stephen|date=28 Jul 2020|access-date=28 Jul 2020|work=South China Morning Post|location=Beijing, China|language=en}}</ref>

In the United States, most helium is extracted from the natural gas of the [[Hugoton Natural Gas Area|Hugoton]] and nearby gas fields in Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Panhandle Field in Texas.<ref name="wwsupply" /><ref>Pierce, A. P., Gott, G. B., and Mytton, J. W. (1964). "Uranium and Helium in the Panhandle Gas Field Texas, and Adjacent Areas", Geological Survey Professional Paper 454-G, Washington:US Government Printing Office</ref> Much of this gas was once sent by pipeline to the [[National Helium Reserve]], but since 2005, this reserve has been depleted and sold off, and it is expected to be largely depleted by 2021<ref name="bloomberg.com" /> under the October 2013 ''Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act'' (H.R. 527).<ref>{{cite web|title=Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act (H.R. 527)|url=http://naturalresources.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=320460|website=House Committee on Natural Resources|publisher=Committee on Natural Resources United States House of Representatives|access-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306033258/http://naturalresources.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=320460|archive-date=2017-03-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> The helium fields of the western United States are emerging as an alternate source of helium supply, particularly those of the "[[Four Corners]]" region (the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah).<ref>{{Cite web|title = When a Rush Begins: A Field Guide to the Helium Hopefuls of the United States|url = https://www.goldandrevolution.com/when-a-rush-begins-a-field-guide-to-the-helium-hopefuls-of-the-usa/|website = Gold and Revolution|access-date = 2023-07-30|date = 2023-07-23|last = Fresne|first = Patrick}}</ref>

Diffusion of crude natural gas through special [[semipermeable membrane]]s and other barriers is another method to recover and purify helium.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Membrane technology—A new trend in industrial gas separation |last1 = Belyakov|first1=V. P. |last2 = Durgar'yan|first2=S. G. |last3 = Mirzoyan|first3=B. A.|journal = Chemical and Petroleum Engineering |volume = 17 |issue = 1 |pages = 19–21 |date = 1981 |doi = 10.1007/BF01245721| bibcode=1981CPE....17...19B |s2cid = 109199653}}</ref> In 1996, the U.S. had ''proven'' helium reserves in such gas well complexes of about 147 billion [[standard cubic feet]] (4.2 billion SCM).<ref>Committee on the Impact of Selling, [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9860&page=44 Table 4.2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195702/http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9860&page=44 |date=2014-09-10 }}</ref> At rates of use at that time (72 million SCM per year in the U.S.; see pie chart below) this would have been enough helium for about 58 years of U.S. use, and less than this (perhaps 80% of the time) at world use rates, although factors in saving and processing impact effective reserve numbers.

Helium is generally extracted from natural gas because it is present in air at only a fraction of that of neon, yet the demand for it is far higher. It is estimated that if all neon production were retooled to save helium, 0.1% of the world's helium demands would be satisfied. Similarly, only 1% of the world's helium demands could be satisfied by re-tooling all air distillation plants.<ref>Committee on the Impact of Selling, see [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9860&page=40 page 40] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529150642/http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9860&page=40 |date=2014-05-29 }} for the estimate of total theoretical helium production by neon and liquid air plants</ref> Helium can be synthesized by bombardment of [[lithium]] or [[boron]] with high-velocity protons, or by bombardment of lithium with [[deuteron]]s, but these processes are a completely uneconomical method of production.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = A Photographic Investigation of the Transmutation of Lithium and Boron by Protons and of Lithium by Ions of the Heavy Isotope of Hydrogen |author = Dee, P. I. |author2 = Walton E. T. S. |journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Society of London]] |volume = 141 |issue = 845 |pages = 733–742 |date = 1933 |doi = 10.1098/rspa.1933.0151|bibcode = 1933RSPSA.141..733D |s2cid = 96565428 |doi-access = free }}</ref>

Helium is commercially available in either liquid or gaseous form. As a liquid, it can be supplied in small insulated containers called [[Dewar flask|dewars]] which hold as much as 1,000 liters of helium, or in large ISO containers, which have nominal capacities as large as 42&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup> (around 11,000 U.S. [[gallon]]s). In gaseous form, small quantities of helium are supplied in high-pressure cylinders holding as much as 8&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup> (approximately . 282 standard cubic feet), while large quantities of high-pressure gas are supplied in tube trailers, which have capacities of as much as 4,860&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup> (approx. 172,000 standard cubic feet).

===Conservation advocates===
{{Main|Helium storage and conservation}}

According to helium conservationists like Nobel laureate physicist [[Robert Coleman Richardson]], writing in 2010, the free market price of helium has contributed to "wasteful" usage (e.g. for [[Tethered helium balloon|helium balloons]]). Prices in the 2000s had been lowered by the decision of the U.S. Congress to sell off the country's large helium stockpile by 2015.<ref name="Connor" /> According to Richardson, the price needed to be multiplied by 20 to eliminate the excessive wasting of helium. In the 2012 Nuttall et al. paper titled "Stop squandering helium", it was also proposed to create an International Helium Agency that would build a sustainable market for "this precious commodity".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nuttall |first1=William J. |last2=Clarke |first2=Richard H. |last3=Glowacki |first3=Bartek A. |date=2012 |title=Resources: Stop squandering helium |journal=Nature |volume=485 |issue=7400 |pages=573–575 |bibcode=2012Natur.485..573N |doi=10.1038/485573a |pmid=22660302 |s2cid=10351068|doi-access=free }}</ref>