Process for the drying of volatile liquids

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE REMOVAL OF WATER FROM A LIQUID STREAM COMPRISING FLOWING A LIQUID FEED STREAM COMPRISING WATER THROUGH A FIRST BED OF A RELATIVELY DRY ADSORBENT AT A PRESELECTED INITIAL RELATIVELY HIGH PRESSURE AND IN A POSITIVE FLOW DIRECTION IN AN INITIAL CYCLE, SAID ADSORBENT, PREFERENTIALLY SELECTIVE FOR SAID WATER, DISCHARGING THE DRY LIQUID STREAM FROM SAID FIRST BED AS A PRIMARY EFFLUENT, SEGREGATING A PORTION OF SAID PRIMARY EFFLUENT AS A DRY PRODUCT STREAM AND WITHDRAWING THE SAME, PASSING THE REMAINDER OF SAID PRIMARY EFFLUENT THROUGH PRESSURE REDUCING MEANS AND VAPORIZING THE SAME, THEREAFTER PASSING SAID VAPORIZED STREAM IN REVERSE FLOW DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SAID POSITIVE FLOW DIRECTION TO A SECOND BED OF ADSORBENT AT A RELATIVELY LOW PRESSURE, WHICH ADSORBENT IS RELATIVELY SATURATED WITH WATER AS COMPARED TO SAID FIRST BED AT THE START OF SAID INITIAL CYCLE, WHEREBY SAID INITIAL CYCLE CONTINUES, SAID FIRST BED BECOMES RELATIVELY SATURATED WITH WATER PROGRESSIVELY IN SAID POSITIVE DIRECTION AND WHEREBY SAID SECOND BED BECOMES PROGRESSIVELY RELATIVELY DRY IN SAID REVERSE DIRECTION, CONTINUING SAID