A helium recycling system has been purchased and installed in the ground floor of the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), recovering waste
Susan Perkins
Martin & Michele Cohen Dean of Science
Helium Recycling System is Installed
In a joint project between the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center and the CCNY Division of Science, a helium recycling system has been purchased and installed in the ground floor of the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), recovering waste helium gas from eight pieces of equipment from ASRC & CDI and reliquifying it for use in those instruments. Doing so is both good for the environment – helium is a finite resource produced as a waste product of natural gas extraction – and lowers the costs of a substantial expense for research in the areas of structural biology, chemistry, and low temperature physics research. Using this equipment, manufactured by Quantum Technology Corp., we anticipate being able to recycle over 90% of our liquid helium consumption from the attached instrumentation going forward.
This multi-institutional project was supported by an NIH grant supplement to Prof. Kevin Gardner (ASRC & CCNY), with addtitonal funds provided by the CUNY Graduate Research Technology Initiative (GRTI) program, the ASRC and CCNY administrations, and Profs. Lia Krusin-Elbaum and Ruth Stark (CCNY). Installation over the past year – complicated by COVID work restrictions and a diverse mix of types of equipment across multiple sites – was overseen by Dr. Jim Aramini (ASRC), Dr. Hsin Wang (CCNY), Michael Boydston-White (CCNY), and David Salmon (ASRC) with great installation work done by George Varian and CCNY physical plant personnel. (Photo by K. Gardner)