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Helium can be easily retrieved from the atmosphere by fractional distillation. It leaks up into the atmosphere from the radioactive core of the Earth and forms naturally from solar radiation in the upper atmosphere, keeping atmospheric concentration high enough.

Can we extract helium from the air?

Helium is generally extracted from natural gas as, in many cases, its concentration there is considerably higher than in air. The helium extraction processes now used should become more and more complicated due to the anticipated exhaustion of natural gas sources with the required helium content.

Can we harvest helium from space?

It's simply not feasible. However, mining other resources in space, such as asteroids, Luna, or the inner planets, is within the reach of feasibility studies, although NASA does not have concrete plans at this point.

How do humans get helium?

There is no chemical way of manufacturing helium, and the supplies we have originated in the very slow radioactive alpha decay that occurs in rocks. It costs around 10,000 times more to extract helium from air than it does from rocks and natural gas reserves.

Can we recover helium?

Many people do not realize that helium is a non-renewable resource. It is made on earth via nuclear decay of uranium, and it is recovered from mines. Once it is released into the atmosphere it becomes uneconomical to recapture it, and eventually atmospheric helium will escape earth altogether because it is so light.

Where is helium produced in the United States?

Most U.S. helium-rich natural gas is located in the Hugoton-Panhandle field in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas; the LaBarge field in the Riley Ridge area of Wyoming; and the federal facility in the Cliffside field near Amarillo, Texas (Figure 2.2).

How do you separate helium from natural gas?

The current method for Helium separation from natural gas is a complicated, energy-intensive process called fractional distillation. Among other things, it involves the removal of solid species and heavy gas molecules, cryogenic cooling, and separation from liquid hydrocarbons.

Can helium be created artificially?

Helium is all over the universe—it's the second-most abundant element. But on Earth, it's much less common. It can't be artificially produced and must be extracted from natural gas wells.

Where does helium come from naturally?

Nearly all of our helium is extracted from natural gas, a byproduct of radioactive decay of uranium and thorium. Much of the extraction in the United States and the world comes from underground gas fields between Amarillo, Texas, and Hugoton, Kansas, where a very high concentration, up to 2%, can be found.

How do you harvest helium?

Helium is mined along with natural gas, using a drill rig to drill wells deep into the earth's crust. A drill rig must penetrate a layer called the Cap Rock to reach a natural gas reserve.