New Britain herald., 1922-11-24
FAVOR HELIUh FOR \ USE INA|R SHIPS
Is Employment Would Have Pre- { rented Disasters, Say Experts

Washington. Nov. 24.--The re- ctirrence Of disasters to hydroeen- Nheated Ajr ships has turned public attention to the possible development fof helium--a non-iniammable gas ,39first discovered during the world war and regarded by many opponents of ar navigation as the one solution Of the lighter-than-air craft problem. | Government and other experts be- lieye that the use Of helium would have prevented the terrible disastsrs off late years, such as that of the Roma and the C-2. While only one ship. an army bimp. thus far has been filled with heiium, quantity pro- duction of this rare gas now is fore seen
 V Satisfactory operation, on a labora- tory scale, of simpllfied and much cheaper method of recovering helium from natural gas is reported through the American Chemical society by H. Foster Bain, director of the United States Bureau of Mines. Tn tests made within the last month at the eryogenic laboratory in the Interior Department building, heliumswas re- covered in one operation in sufficient purity to use in balloons and dirigi- bles. fS''This development" says Director Rain, Indicates that very soon the cost of the commercial production of heliumf for lighter-t -than-air craft will be greatly reduced"
 K Chemists of the bureau say the cost iof producing .helium has been too great to permit of widespread use. However, with the new methods fdence to its general use in the near future.
 Helium has o2 per cent. the lifting capacity of hydrogen. can be easily stored does not rapidly deteriorate, does not readily leak from 6 gas bag and has all the advantage of hydro gen without the great danger draw back In fact, helium makes more satisfactory filler, navy dirigible pilots. have told the bureau chemists. be-, cause a shelium- filled bag is steadier in the air.
 v The government now has stored ap- proximately 2,000,000 cubic feet of .helinm, and is producing at the rate Of 15,ooo cubic feet daily at it's com rrercial production plant at. Fort Worth, Texas, the only helium plant in the world. As soon as this plant has started running at full capacity it Is Expected the government will be able to produce hclium st theF low cost of ten cents cubic foot. \ .5gs The Fort Worth plant was run last year for only a few months and that only on experimental bases. The plant was started. running continuously however. on October first. Y. s1. Helium occurs one.carth only in certain natural gases, much of which,. in this country, were used, for illnna-; fhAts and power generstjriE,s re fifi-s anE p1f and ydiscarding helfum among other Hinpurities.". Such gases oc-. curs. alaosin Italy and Canada,@asbW nd feliWsIs 3is being recovered in thosss cealntr{eA Representative Julius KahH of G,Rifforrsia, has introduced a bin ip ootsresS to support definite pros graln for helium recovery, action iipca Ef1ibh is expected from the next session sof that body
 'Meanwhile.' says pr. Moore, of the bureau Of mines "every effort is being made to encourage the produce ton of, helium by commercial com pautesys and every assistance will be given by the government in such de- velopmcnts'' X.
 Under the present system Of helium extractionT followed in Forth Worth, d 64 per. cent. return Of sheium is ob- tained from the natural gas. This 6i per cent must be put through puri-