Processes and apparatus for recovering hydrocarbons from gas streams

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF RECOVERING HYDROCARBON LIQUID FRACTIONS FROM A MAIN GAS STREAM INCLUDING, FLOWING THE MAIN GAS STREAM THROUGH A BED OF ADSORBENT MATERIAL TO REMOVE ADSORBABLE HYDROCARBON FRACTIONS THEREFROM, DISCHARGING THE STRIPPED MAIN GAS STREAM FROM THE ADSORBENT MATERIAL BED, STOPPING THE FLOW OF THE MAIN GAS STREAM THROUGH THE BED, CIRCULATING A REGENERATION GASS THROUGH A REGENERATION CIRCUIT WHICH INCLUDES THE BED AND ALSO INCLUDES A CONDENSING AND SEPARATING ZONE, HEATING THE REGENERATION GAS AT A POINT DOWNSTREAM OF THE CONDENSING AND SEPARATING ZONE AND UPSTREAM OF THE DISCHARGE FROM THE BED WHEREBY AS SAID GAS CIRCULATED THROUGH ITS CIRCUIT THE GAS REGENERATES THE BED AND PICKS UP THE HYDROCARBON FRACTIONS WHICH FRACTIONS ARE SUBSEQUENTLY CONDENSED AND SEPARATED AS THE REGENERATION GAS PASSES THROUGH THE CONDENSING AND SEPARATING ZONE, ESTABLISHING A COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE REGENERATION CIRCUIT AND A SOURCE OF GAS WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF SAID CIRCUIT, AND FLOWING GAS EITHER FROM SAID GAS SOURCE INTO SAID REGENERATION CIRCUIT OR FROM SAID GAS SOURCE INTO SAID REGENERATION CIRCUIT THROUGH THE COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHING MEANS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESSURE CONDITIONS OBTAINING IN SAID REGENERATION CIRCUIT AND SAID OUTSIDE GAS SOURCE.