Air Liquide recently started up a helium purification and liquefaction unit, a turnkey project at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, the company said July 8. The new unit’s production capacity is approximately 38 million cubic meters of helium per year.
Air Liquide uses a propriety method to purify and liquefy helium at a very low temperature (-269°C).
The combined production capacity of this new unit and the existing unit on this site will be approximately 58 million cubic meters per year, making Qatar the world’s second-largest producer of helium with 25 percent of current global production, according to Air Liquide.
Under a long-term agreement with RasGas and Qatargas, Air Liquide will purchase 50 percent of the helium volumes produced by this new unit and the existing one.
For more information, visit www.airliquide.com.
