50 U.S.C. § 167o — Low-Btu gas separation and helium conservation

(a) Authorization: This subsection tells the Secretary of Energy to support research, development, commercial application, and conservation programs — including the specific programs listed in subsection (b) — for three goals: (1) growing domestic production of low-Btu gas and helium; (2) separating and capturing helium from natural gas streams; and (3) cutting down on helium and helium-bearing low-Btu gas that gets vented and wasted during natural gas exploration and production. (b) Programs: This subsection lists three specific research programs the Secretary of Energy must support. (1) Membrane technology research: A civilian research program, run with other relevant agencies, to develop better membrane technology for separating low-Btu gases — including technology that removes helium and other gases that lower natural gas's Btu content. (2) Helium separation technology: A research program to develop ways to separate, collect, and process helium found in low concentrations in natural geological reservoirs, including (A) low-Btu gas production streams, and (B) technology that reduces how much helium gets vented into the atmosphere during natural gas production. (3) Industrial helium program: Run through the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, this research program must (A) develop low-cost ways to recycle, reprocess, and reuse helium for every kind of use in the United States — medical, scientific, industrial, commercial, aerospace, and federal — and (B) develop technology to gather helium from other chemical processes, including ammonia production. (c) Authorization of appropriations: Congress authorizes $3,000,000 to be spent carrying out this section.