In the final stages of its project, gas manufacturer Renergen is nearing completion of the implementation of its helium plant system, a crucial breakthrough that will place South Africa among the eight liquid helium producing countries.
In its March quarterly report, the company announced that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supplier arrived on site at the end of February to complete the last phase of plant commissioning.
Integration of essential components of the Helium Plant
Some of the important add-ons for material control and handlingare the nitrogen and helium cold boxes have been fully incorporated into the system, while the helium storage tank has been cooled to 20 °K.
The company has successfully processed its tail gas stream, separating the methane from the gas to obtain concentrated helium with a purity of 99.95%, in accordance with the design specifications prior to the liquefaction stage.
Liquefaction operation and verifications
On the other hand, the helium undergoes an additional filtration process to achieve a purity of 99.999%. Verification of these results has been performed by a laboratory approved by the South African National Accreditation System, the company said.
OEM and oil and gas subsidiary Tetra4 are finalizing pre-checks and evaluations before advancing to the commercial liquefaction phase for customers. Renergen assures that it does not anticipate challenges in reaching the next targets, as the liquefaction process has undergone extensive testing.
Mineral exploration and investment update
The company also reported on Mahlako Gas Energy’s investment in its Virginia gas project, stating that all preconditions have been met. This transaction involved the sale of 5.5% of Tetra4 for a total of R550 million.
In addition, Italy’s Airsol, a wholly owned subsidiary of gas producer SOL, completed its $7 million investment in unsecured convertible debentures in Renergen. These debentures will be converted into securities upon completion of the company’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq, scheduled for later this year.
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Source and photo: Renergen