Equipment: Helium Recovery Equipment: Acquisition of Helium Recovery and Liquefaction Hardware for the University of Kansas

设备：氦回收设备：为堪萨斯大学采购氦回收和液化硬件

• 批准号: 2305187
• 负责人: Justin Douglas
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-05-01 至 2026-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305187&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Equipment; Helium; Recovery; Acquisition; Liquefaction

With support from the Division of Chemistry and co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Dr. Justin Douglas at the University of Kansas is implementing a helium recovery system that will capture, purify, and liquefy helium gas exhaust produced by the normal operation of nine scientific instruments used in research with broad societal impacts in fields such as chemistry, engineering, and pharmacy. For example, the superconducting magnets of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers need periodic refills of liquid helium to maintain persistent magnetic fields. Severe shortages of helium have forced the mothballing of some instruments, which adversely impacts many NSF-funded and other projects throughout the region. Responsible resource utilization that minimizes waste by recycling gaseous helium exhaust protects present research activities and preserves this non-renewable resource, enabling future generations to continue to advance national and global health, prosperity, and welfare. Furthermore, information about the requested equipment is being integrated into a comprehensive outreach effort to engage individuals from underrepresented groups, recruit and retain faculty, staff and students, and enhance the classroom and research environment at the University of Kansas.The nine instruments being served by the helium recovery equipment are distributed across four separate buildings. Successful execution of this project demonstrates the feasibility of a hub-and-spoke model for other institutions needing to recover helium from dispersed devices. This project involves 1) fabrication of manifolds using off-the-shelf parts to collect helium exhaust without disturbing instrument operation; 2) short-term storage of helium in 8500-liter bags; 3) compression of collected gas into high-pressure cylinders for transport to a centralized facility on campus; 4) purification and liquefaction of the gas; and 5) reuse of the resulting liquid helium in scientific instruments. In one year of operation, it is estimated that ~2,400 liters of liquid helium will be recycled by this system. This recovered helium will be used to refill superconducting NMR magnets and to supply the cryostats of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Magnetic Circular Dichroism spectrometers. This helium recovery system will secure essential supplies for scientific instrumentation that plays a crucial role in NSF-funded and other research projects.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在启发竞争性研究的化学和共同资助的化学和共同资助的支持下，堪萨斯大学的贾斯汀·道格拉斯（Justin Douglas）博士正在实施一种氦恢复系统，该系统将捕获，纯化和液化氦气耗气，该系统由正常运行中的九种科学仪器用于领域的九种科学仪器所用的九种科学工具，例如在领域中产生了广泛的社会影响，例如化学，工具和药物型。例如，核磁共振（NMR）光谱仪的超导磁铁需要定期重新填充液态氦气以维持持续的磁场。严重的氦气短缺迫使某些乐器的封存，这对整个地区的许多NSF资助和其他项目产生了不利影响。通过回收气态滤光管排气来最大程度地减少废物的负责资源利用保护目前的研究活动并保留了这种不可再生的资源，使后代能够继续促进国家和全球健康，繁荣和福利。此外，有关所请求的设备的信息正在整合到全面的外展工作中，以吸引来自代表性不足的团体的个人，招募和保留教职员工，教职员工和学生，并增强堪萨斯大学的课堂和研究环境。氦气恢复设备提供的九种乐器是在四个独立的建筑物上分发的。该项目的成功执行证明了用于其他机构需要从分散设备中恢复氦气的机构的可行性。该项目涉及1）使用现成的零件制造歧管，以收集氦气排气，而不会干扰仪器的操作； 2）在8500升袋中短期存放氦气； 3）将收集的气体压缩到高压缸中，以运输到校园的集中设施； 4）气体的纯化和液化； 5）在科学仪器中重复使用产生的液氦。在运行的一年中，据估计，该系统将回收约2400升液氦。该回收的氦气将用于重新填充NMR磁铁的超导，并提供电子顺磁共振和磁性圆形二分法光谱仪的低温稳定物。该氦恢复系统将为科学仪器提供必不可少的供应，该仪器在NSF资助和其他研究项目中起着至关重要的作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估标准来评估值得通过评估来支持的。