Gas purification process

Claim 1

A COMBINED ABSORPTION-ABSORBENT REGENERATION PROCESS FOR TREATING A CONTAMINATED FEED GAS CONTAINING AN ACIDIC GASEOUS COMPONENT WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING SAID FEED GAS WITH A LIQUID ABSORBENT COMPOSITION COMPRISING AN ORGANIC AMINE, A SUBSTANTIALLY ANHYDROUS, HYDROPHILIC GLYCOL COMPOUND AND A MINOR AMOUNT, BASED UPON THE GLYCOL COMPOUND, OF A HYDROCARBON AT LEAST PARTIALLY SOLUBLE IN SAID GLYCOL COMPOUND, AND VAPORIZABLE IN THE ABSORBENT REGENERATION STEP, TO THEREBY FORM A RICH ABSORBENT COMPOSITION AND A TREATED GAS STREAM SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF MOISTURE AND SAID ACIDIC GAS COMPONENT, SEPARATING SAID TREATED GAS STREAM FROM SAID RICH COMPOSITION, SEPARATELY DISTILLING SAID RICH COMPOSITION AND VAPORIZING SAID HYDROCARBON AND AMINE TOGETHER WITH THE ACIDIC GASEOUS COMPONENT AND ANY WATER ABSORBED BY THE COMPOSITION FROM SAID FEED GAS UNTIL THE RESULTING COMPOSITION RESIDUE CONTAINS NOT MORE THAN 0.5% BY WEIGHT OF WATER AND IS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF ACIDIC GAS, SEPARATING THE RESULTING OVERHEAD INTO AN ACIDIC GAS, A WATER PHASE AND A SEPARATE HYDROCARBON PHASE CONTAINING AMINE AND GLYCOL COMPOUND, AND THEREAFTER COMBINING SAID HYDROCARBON PHASE WITH SAID COMPOSITION RESIDUE AND RECYCLING THE RESULTING MIXTURE TO CONTACT WITH SAID FEED GAS.