Helium Crisis in India

In News

The US is planning to cut off the export of helium from 2021 and the Indian industry stands to lose out heavily.

• The US is the biggest storehouse and the most important exporter of helium across the world.
• Every year, India imports helium worth Rs. 55,000 crores from the US to meet its needs.
  • India consumes about 70 million cubic metres per year.
  • It is a key ingredient for India’s high technology and the most sophisticated medical diagnosis.

About Helium

• Helium (He) is a chemical element, inert gas of Group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table.
• It is the second lightest element after hydrogen.
• It is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that becomes liquid at −268.9 °C (−452 °F).
• The boiling and freezing points of helium are lower than those of any other known substance.
• Helium is the only element that cannot be solidified by sufficient cooling at normal atmospheric pressure and it is necessary to apply pressure of 25 atmospheres at a temperature of 1 K (−272 °C, or −458 °F) to convert it to its solid form.
• Production
  • Helium gas (98.2 per cent pure) is isolated from natural gas by liquefying the other components at low temperatures and under high pressures.
  • Adsorption of other gases on cooled, activated charcoal yields 99.995 per cent pure helium.

                                                                                                       (Image Courtesy: Britannica)

• Applications
  • It is used as an inert-gas atmosphere for welding metals such as aluminium.
  • In rocket propulsion to pressurize fuel tanks, especially those for liquid hydrogen, because only helium is still a gas at liquid-hydrogen temperature.
  • In meteorology as a lifting gas for instrument-carrying balloons.
  • In cryogenics as a coolant because liquid helium is the coldest substance.
  • In high-pressure breathing operations mixed with oxygen, as in scuba diving and caisson work, especially because of its low solubility in the bloodstream.
  • In MRI scanners, as a coolant to give the magnetic coils in the scanner superconductive properties.
  • Meteorites and rocks have been analyzed for helium content as a means of dating.

Alternatives

• Imports: Qatar is a possible exporter of Helium but it is not seen as a credible source due to political and diplomatic concerns.
• Extraction: India’s Rajmahal volcanic basin around Bakreswar and nearby Tantloi (Jharkhand) is the storehouse of helium.
  • It is being mapped extensively for future exploration and harnessing of helium.
  • The Atomic Mineral Division of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has started preliminary measurements and surveys.

Source: TH