The Economics of Helium Separation and Purification by Gas Separation Membranes

Abstract

Membrane gas separation has the potential to recover and purify helium, either directly from natural gas or as part of the off gas produced from the nitrogen rejection unit in conventional natural gas processing. Process designs for achieving high helium recovery and purity have previously been published by the authors, based on permeability and selectivity performances already present in current polymeric membranes. Here, the application of polymeric gas separation membranes for helium recovery is extended further, and the economic viability of process designs has been investigated and evaluated against the commercial helium price. For direct recovery and purification of helium from natural..