Efficient Recovery of Dilute Helium Gas Using Molecular Sieve Membranes

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Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$500,000
Location:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
09/26/2022 - 09/25/2024

Technology Description:

Domestic helium supplies are diminishing, while global demand is rising due to high-tech industries, medical diagnosis, chip manufacturing, and space exploration. Osmoses will develop of a novel family of ultrapermeable and ultra-selective polymer membranes that can efficiently capture dilute sources of this critical gas from feedstocks that are otherwise wasted. Osmoses will optimize its proprietary polymer synthesis procedure to reduce costs and enable rapid scale-up. The polymer will then be formed into an ultra-thin membrane film for helium recovery from natural gas streams, which in the US contain an estimated 306 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium and represent a significant opportunity. The Osmoses team will develop a techno-economic process model to minimize helium’s production price as a function of helium feed composition.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Jenifer Shafer
Project Contact:
Dr. Holden Lai
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
holden@osmoses.com

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