Processes and apparatus for recovering hydrocarbons from gas streams

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF RECOVERING HYDROCARBON LIQUID FRACTIONS FROM A MAIN HYDROCARBON STREAM WHICH HAS A PORTION OF ITS CONSTITUENTS IN THE GAS PHASE AND THE REMAINDER THEREOF IN THE LIQUID PHASE, SAID PROCESS INCLUDING, SEPARATING THE GAS FROM THE HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS IN SAID MAIN STREAM, HEREAFTER SUBJECTING THE SEPARATED GAS TO AN ADSORPTION PROCESS WHEREIN SAID GAS IS DIRECTED THROUGH AN ABSORBENT BED TO EXTRACT HYDROCARBON LIQUID FRACTIONS WHICH ARE MORE VOLATILE THAN THE HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS WHICH WERE SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN STREAM, RECOVERING THE EXTRACTED LIQUID FRACTIONS AS A LIQUID PRODUCT, FLASHING VAPORS FROM SAID LIQUID PRODUCT AND THEREAFTER INTIMATELY CONTACTING THE FLASH VAPORS FROM THE LIQUID PRODUCT WITH SAID LIQUIDS WHICH WERE INITIALLY SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN STREAM BY DIRECTING SAID FLASHED VAPORS IN COUNTERCURRENT FLOW TO THE INITIALLY SEPARATED LIQUIDS WHEREBY THE INITIALLY SEPARATED LIQUID ABSORB A PORTION OF SAID FLASH VAPORS TO PRODUCE A STABLE LIQUID PRODUCT.