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"A dream. It's perfect": Helium discovery in northern Minnesota may be biggest ever in North America (www.cbsnews.com)

submitted 8 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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"A dream. It's perfect": Helium discovery in northern Minnesota may be biggest ever in North America::For a century, the U.S. Government-owned the largest helium reserve in the country, but the biggest exporters now are in Russia, Qatar and Tanzania. With this new discovery, Minnesota could be joining that list.

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[+] givesomefucks@lemmy.world -13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

It doesn’t mean you can easily separate it from a bunch of other gases in the same space

When it's the lightest noble gas it does...

When literally the only lighter gas is hydrogen, which combines easily with oxygen to produce a liquid, it becomes pretty fucking easy.

Seriously, you couldn't ask for an easier gas to separate.

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You understand how much these companies could make if they were capable of purifying the helium further to sell to all the places that desperately need pure helium?

They have loads of resources and haven't figured it out, because it's nowhere near as easy as you're pretending. You don't know what you're talking about.

[–] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

technology is there, the issue is to run it cheaply, reliably and on scale. this is the actual problem

edit: i mean it's a problem that responds well to throwing money at it. if there was extra need for helium that would be met by diverting balloon gas, then it would work at some price, but we're nowhere close to it

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If it takes too much energy it's not exactly "better for the environment" or whatever nonsense argument he's trying to make.

Neither is just storing it.

[–] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

energy expenditure would be similar to purifying it from helium concentrate, so not much difference. considering small volume of balloon helium this wouldn't probably mean large increase. i also don't know what this guy is about