Helium

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BOC is the world's largest helium supplier with access to almost 30 percent of the commercial available supply. We can supply helium:

• In a full range of purities.
• In any quantity you require.
• As either compressed or liquefied gas.
• In over 30 countries.

Our helium products include:

• Pure helium.
• Helium mixtures.

We have specialist helium grades for use in:

• Industrial applications.
• Electronics.
• Medical applications.

We also offer a range of specialised helium services including CryoFill^TM service.

Supply options

Call Us or Email Us  for advice on the most cost effective supply option to meet your needs, these include:

• Compressed helium – high pressure gas cylinders for convenience or for mobile supply. Cylinder sizes and pressures are tailored to local markets.
• Liquid helium – dewars or ISO containers for cryogenic applications.
• Bulk helium – gaseous helium delivered by high pressure gas tube trailers for high-volume applications. The product may be transferred into on-site storage or exchanged with an on-site trailer used as storage. 

Processes that use helium

Helium is potentially the most versatile of the inert gases. However its extraction from natural gas is commercially viable in only a few locations, limiting its use to applications where there is no viable alternative.

The temperature of liquid helium is only a few degrees above absolute zero. It is used as the working fluid in refrigeration systems associated with superconductivity research and applications such as:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)  and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) – as the refrigerant to make the magnet superconductive and provide the extremely powerful magnetic field used to study the internal structure of objects.

Helium’s boiling point is very low, which makes it the only option for:

• Hydrogen purging – to purge and pressurise liquid hydrogen tanks and piping systems where other inert gases would freeze.

Helium has a high ionisation potential of 24.5volts and produces a very hot electric arc, which is used in:

• Welding – in mixtures, as a shielding gas with superior weld quality for MIG and TIG welding. It is especially useful for high speed and high standard welding of stainless steels, aluminium, titanium and copper alloys.

Helium has a high thermal conductivity only exceeded by that of hydrogen. This property makes it an important gas for:

• Quenching – in mixture with nitrogen or argon, to optimise heat transfer in vacuum furnaces and quench aerospace alloys and tool steels to achieve desired metallurgical characteristics.

Helium is the second lightest gas after hydrogen, and is used in:

• Chromatography – as the carrier for gas-liquid and gas-solid chromatography.
• Life support – helium-oxygen mixtures are easy to breathe and are used to treat patients with asthma and other respiratory problems. Helium is also used in diving gas mixtures to prevent nitrogen narcosis.

Helium has the second smallest molecule after hydrogen and is non-flammable, which makes it essential for:

• Leak detection – because it is inherently "leaky”, helium makes a perfect leak detector for pressurized systems and vessels.
• Balloon inflation  – because it is both light and safe. 

Industries that use helium

Helium’s gaseous and liquid phase properties are used in many different industries and its application is only restricted by its high value:

• Healthcare – as a medical gas in oxygen mixture to treat respiratory problems and as a refrigerant for MRI/NMR equipment.
• Hospitality and leisure and Retail – helium is the only safe gas to inflate balloons, from party balloons to hot air balloons (see also balloon gas and accessories).
• Heat treatment – used for quenching in heat treatment and leak detection in metal fabrication.
• Defence –  critical components of aerospace and government/laboratory applications such as superconductors, leak detection, and high-pressure pumping systems.
• Fiber optics – used as the carrier gas in chemical vapour deposition, also mixed with chlorine gas during the consolidation step and may be used as the furnace atmosphere at various stages of production. Helium’s high thermal conductivity makes it an excellent gas for high-speed cooling of newly drawn fibre prior to the coating step.
• Electronics – used to enhance heat transfer and provide the stable inert atmosphere necessary for increased productivity in semiconductor manufacturing, to purge and as a carrier gas in IC fabs and as a push gas for tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS).

Our global distribution network

We believe that maintaining tight control of our processes enables us to offer the highest standards of safety, quality, speed and reliability. Our helium operations are fully integrated from production to retail marketing, and include:

• contractual access to size of the world's thirteen helium sources.
• 48 transfills around the world.
• the world's second largest helium plant in Otis, Kansas US.
• 190 cryogenic ISO containers.

Safety Information

• Helium is an inert gas that causes oxygen depletion leading to asphyxiation and death. The danger is somewhat lessened by its low density, which makes it rise to upper levels where it is often able to escape.
• Helium is capable of inflicting severe frostbite.
• Helium has a low heat capacity which can lead to rapid pressure rises in vessels and the escape of very cold gas.

Technical Information