Equipment: Helium Recovery Equipment: Acquisition of Helium Recovery and Liquefaction Hardware for the University of Kansas

在化学系的支持和现有计划的共同资助下，堪萨斯大学的Justin Douglas博士正在实施一个氦回收系统，该系统将捕获、净化和液化氦气体废气，这些废气是在化学、工程和制药等领域具有广泛社会影响的研究中使用的九台科学仪器正常运行时产生的。例如，核磁共振(核磁共振)光谱仪的超导磁体需要定期补充液氦以保持持久的磁场。氦的严重短缺迫使一些仪器被封存，这对该地区许多由国家科学基金会资助的项目和其他项目产生了不利影响。负责任的资源利用通过回收气体氦废气来最大限度地减少废物，保护了目前的研究活动并保护了这种不可再生的资源，使子孙后代能够继续促进国家和全球的健康、繁荣和福利。此外，关于所需设备的信息正在纳入一项全面的外联工作，以吸引代表人数不足的群体的个人，招聘和留住教职员工和学生，并改善堪萨斯大学的教室和研究环境。氦回收设备提供的九台仪器分布在四座不同的建筑中。该项目的成功执行证明了轴辐式模式对于其他需要从分散的设备中回收氦的机构的可行性。该项目包括1)使用现成的部件制造歧管，在不干扰仪器操作的情况下收集氦废气；2)将氦短期储存在8500升的袋子中；3)将收集到的气体压缩到高压钢瓶中，以便运输到校园的中央设施；4)气体的净化和液化；以及5)在科学仪器中重复使用产生的液氦。在一年的运行中，预计该系统将回收约2400升液氦。回收的氦将用于补充超导核磁共振磁体，并提供电子顺磁共振和磁圆二色谱计的低温恒温器。这一氦回收系统将确保科学仪器的必要供应，这些仪器在NSF资助的项目和其他研究项目中发挥着至关重要的作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Division of Chemistry and co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Dr. Justin Douglas at the University of Kansas is implementing a helium recovery system that will capture, purify, and liquefy helium gas exhaust produced by the normal operation of nine scientific instruments used in research with broad societal impacts in fields such as chemistry, engineering, and pharmacy. For example, the superconducting magnets of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers need periodic refills of liquid helium to maintain persistent magnetic fields. Severe shortages of helium have forced the mothballing of some instruments, which adversely impacts many NSF-funded and other projects throughout the region. Responsible resource utilization that minimizes waste by recycling gaseous helium exhaust protects present research activities and preserves this non-renewable resource, enabling future generations to continue to advance national and global health, prosperity, and welfare. Furthermore, information about the requested equipment is being integrated into a comprehensive outreach effort to engage individuals from underrepresented groups, recruit and retain faculty, staff and students, and enhance the classroom and research environment at the University of Kansas.The nine instruments being served by the helium recovery equipment are distributed across four separate buildings. Successful execution of this project demonstrates the feasibility of a hub-and-spoke model for other institutions needing to recover helium from dispersed devices. This project involves 1) fabrication of manifolds using off-the-shelf parts to collect helium exhaust without disturbing instrument operation; 2) short-term storage of helium in 8500-liter bags; 3) compression of collected gas into high-pressure cylinders for transport to a centralized facility on campus; 4) purification and liquefaction of the gas; and 5) reuse of the resulting liquid helium in scientific instruments. In one year of operation, it is estimated that ~2,400 liters of liquid helium will be recycled by this system. This recovered helium will be used to refill superconducting NMR magnets and to supply the cryostats of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Magnetic Circular Dichroism spectrometers. This helium recovery system will secure essential supplies for scientific instrumentation that plays a crucial role in NSF-funded and other research projects.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.