Process for the dehydration of fluids

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR DEHYDRATING A NON-AQUEOUS GAS CONTAINING WATER VAPOR WHICH COMPRISES, PASSING A STREAM OF SAID GAS THROUGH A CONDUIT, DIVIDING SAID STREAM INTO A MAJOR PORTION AND A MINOR PORTION, REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON SAID MAJOR STREAM TO A PRESSURE NOT GREATER THAN THAT OF A COOLED REGENERATION EFFLUENT GAS AS HEREINAFTER RECITED AND VARYING THE EXTENT OF SAID PRESSURE REDUCTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RATE OF FLOW OF SAID MINOR STREAM TO MAINTAIN SAID RATE OF FLOW CONSTANT, HEATING SAID CONSTANT VOLUME STREAM AND PASSING SAID HEATED STREAM THROUGH A BED OF WET SOLID GRANULAR ADSORBENT AND EFFECTING A REGENERATION THEREOF, COOLING THE RESULTING GASEOUS REGENERATION EFFLUENT, REMOVING FROM SAID COOLED REGENERATION EFFLUENT STREAM RESULTING CONDENSED LIQUID WATER, MIXING SAID MAJOR STREAM OF REDUCED PRESSURE AND SAID COOLED REGENERATION STREAM AT SAID PRESSURE, AND SUBSEQUENTLY PASSING THE COMBINED STREAMS THROUGH A BED OF SOLID GRANULAR WATER-ADSORBENT MATERIAL, AND RECOVERING A RESULTING STREAM OF DRIED GAS HAVING A PRESSURE LESS THAN AND A QUANTITY EQUAL TO THE FIRST SAID STREAM OF GAS.