Proposed Helium Recovery System for the UofT/Sick Kids Biomolecular NMR Facility

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Helium is a precious, non-renewable resource used in a variety of industries, and is on Canada's list of materials considered critical for the sustainable economic and technological success of the country (www.nrca.gc.ca). In its extremely cold liquid state, helium is also absolutely required for the superconducting magnets employed in modern Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In early 2022, a number of industry and geopolitical events conspired to cause the 4th major global helium supply crisis, "He4.0". This crisis, the most serious to date, has resulted in dramatic volatility in helium supply, and an approximate doubling of the contracted price of liquid helium in the last year alone, and ~300% increase since 2018, thus jeopardizing the immediate futures of academic NMR facilities.     The Biomolecular NMR facility (NMRF) at the University of Toronto/Sick Kids is the highest profile facility of its kind in Canada, and one of the top two or three in the world. It includes 10 NMR spectrometers ranging from 500 MHz to 1 GHz. The GHz magnet is unique in Canada, and the highest field NMR magnet in the country. The NMRF is shared between three faculty members who are world leaders in biomolecular NMR, particularly the structure and dynamics of large biomolecular systems, intrinsically disordered proteins, and condensates important to health and disease. Data from the NMRF over three decades has fueled the publication of over 670 research papers, and the NMRF supports over 20 HQPs at any given time. Moreover, a very high percentage (~80%) of post-doctoral scientists who have trained in the NMRF have successfully attained faculty positions at major research-intensive universities and institutes in Canada and world-wide.     In the helium recovery system (HeRS) proposed here, helium gas from individual magnets in the facility, exhausted passively or during regular magnet fills, would be collected in a common pipeline leading to a compressor, purifier, and ultimately helium liquefier for reliquefaction. The highly pure, reliquefied helium would then be ready for scheduled transfer back into the magnets. The HeRS would be capable of capturing and recycling helium at an ~90% rate, thereby offering an efficient and cost effective (quick return on investment) means of conserving this precious element. Moreover, the proposed HeRS would ensure the long-term future of the NMRF by significantly reducing exposure to volatility in the global helium market and dependence on suppliers. The HeRS would provide trainees in the NMRF valuable instruction on helium recycling, critical for the future establishment of academic NMR research facilities. Finally, the proposed HeRS could also serve as a future helium liquefaction hub for other NMR groups in its immediate vicinity.