Recovery of condensable components from a gas and vapour mixture

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR SEPARATING CONDENSABLE VAPOUROUS COMPONENTS FROM A GASEOUS MIXTURE CONTAINING THE SAME, WHICH COMPRISES PASSING SAID GAS MIXTURE THROUGH A FIRST ZONE COUNTERCURRENTLY AND IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH A COOL FIRST LIQUID WHICH IS CHEMICALLY INERT WITH RESPECT TO SAID GAS AND UNFREEZABLE AT TEMPERATURES OBTAINING IN SAID ZONE, SO AS TO COOL SAID MIXTURE AND CAUSE A PORTION OF SAID VAPOROUS COMPONENTS TO BE CONDENSEN OUT OF SAID MIXTURE AND CARRIED ALONG WITH SAID FIRST LIQUID; PASSING THE COLD GAS EFFLUENT FROM SAID FIRST ZONE THROUGH A SECOND ZONE; CONTACTING SAID COLD GAS EFFLUENT IN SAID SECOND ZONE WITH A COOL SECOND LIQUID WHICH IS UNFREEZABLE AT TEMPERATURES OBTAINING IN SAID SECOND ZONE; MAINTAINING SAID SECOND LIQUID IN SAID SECOND ZONE AT A TEMPERATURE WHICH IS LOW ENOUGH TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIALLY THE WHOLE AMOUNT OF THE REMAINDER OF SAID VAPOUROUS COMPONENTS TO BE CONDENSED OUT OF SAID GAS EFFLUENT; SEPARATING FROM SAID FIRST LIQUID SAID PORTION OF VAPOUROUS COMPONENTS CARRIED ALONG THEREWITH, IN A SEPARATING ZONE; PASSING SAID GAS EFFLUENT FROM SAID SECOND ZONE THROUGH A THIRD ZONE COUNTERCURRENTLY AND IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SAID FIRST LIQUID FROM SAID SEPARATING ZONE, SO AS TO COOL THE SAME; AND RECYCLING SAID FIRST LIQUID FROM THE THIRD ZONE TO SAID FIRST ZONE.