Purification of gas mixtures

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF PROPYLENE CONTAMINATED WITH METHYL ACETYLENE WHEREBY SAID METHYL ACETYLENE CONTAMINANT IS CONVERTED TO PROPYLENE, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES SUBJECTING SAID CONTAMINANT PROPYLENE MIXTURE TO AN ELEVATED PRESSURE SUFFICIENT TO LIQUEFY SAID CONTAMINATED PROPYLENE MIXTURE AND CONTACTING THE LIQUID MIXTURE WITH A HYDROGEN-NITROGEN GAS MIXTURE, WHEREBY HYDROGEN GAS IS DISSOLVED IN SAID LIQUID PROPYLENE IN AN AMOUNT AND AT A RATE DEPENDENT UPON THE COMPOSITION OF THE HYDROGEN-NITROGEN MIXTURE AND THE PRESSURE, MAINTAINING CONTACT BETWEEN THE LIQUEFIED CONTAMINANT PROPYLENE MIXTURE AND THE HYDROGEN-NITROGEN GAS MIXTURE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT AN AMOUNT OF HYDROGEN GAS, SUFFICIENT ONLY TO HYDROGENATE SAID CONTAMINANT, TO BE ABSORBED BY AND DISSOLVED IN THE LIQUID PROPYLENE, SEPARATING THE HYDROGEN-NITROGEN GAS MIXTURE FROM THE LIQUEFIED CONTAMINANT-PROPYLENE MIXTURE THEREAFTER VAPOR IZING THE LIQUEFIED CONTAMINATED PROPYLENE MIXTURE CONTAINING DISSOLVED HYDROGEN, THEREBY FORMING A VAPOR MIXTURE OF PROPYLENE, CONTAMINANT AND DISSOLVED HYDROGEN GAS, PASSING SAID VAPOR MIXTURE OVER A HYDROGENATION CATALYST MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENT TO HYDROGENATE SAID METHYL ACETYLENE CONTAMINANT TO PROPYLENE GAS WHEREBY THERE IS OBTAINED PROPYLENE SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM METHYL ACETYLENE.