Helium shortage - temporary?

[MikeD]

Has anyone else been affected by the world helium shortage? Apparently UK stocks of purified GC grades are critical. We have 2 days supply at current consumption and no reserves. We had to change supplier to get a delivery.

[pi3832]

Has anyone else been affected by the world helium shortage? Apparently UK stocks of purified GC grades are critical. We have 2 days supply at current consumption and no reserves. We had to change supplier to get a delivery.

You are not alone in feeling the pain of the current helium shortage. Even in the U.S., it is causing problems. While it should be temporary, it's happened before, and will happen again.

Some suggestion that might help ease that pain: review if you really need the grade of helium that you are currently using. E.g., a lot of systems being run on 5.0 grade would work adequately with 4.5 grade. If you do need the higher purity, you can possibly use a lower-grade source cylinder and a point-of-use purifier.

Also, check that you're not wasting helium anywhere. I once had a GC system that was configured to use helium carrier gas to actuate pneumatic valves--a moronic waste of helium.

Check obsessively for leaks. You can lose a lot of helium through even a small leak at the connection of the regulator to the cylinder.

Review if you can't use argon, nitrogen or hydrogen instead of helium. Helium is unique in carrier gases in that it is produced in only two or three places on the planet. And the UK isn't one of them. Argon and nitrogen can be produced anywhere with plentiful electricity, and hydrogen any place with a petrochemical industry. I presume the UK has those.