Treatment of gaseous streams at different pressures to remove acidic constituents

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR REMOVING ACIDIC GASES FROM FIRST AND SECOND GASEOUS STREAMS AT DIFFERENT PRESSURES WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING THE HIGHER PRESSURE GASEOUS STREAM IN A FIRST CONTACTING ZONE WITH A LIQUID MATERIAL CAPABLE OF ABSORBING ACIDIC GASES FROM SAID HIGHER PRESSURE GASEOUS STREAM, REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON THE RESULTING MATERIAL CONTAINING ABOSORBED ACIDIC GASES AND PASSING SUCH MATERIAL TO A SECOND CONTACTING ZONE WHICH IS MAINTAINED AT A LOWER PRESSURE THAN SAID FIRST CONTACTING ZONE, PASSING THE LOWER PRESSURE GASEOUS STREAM INTO SAID SECOND ZONE AND CONTACTING SAME THEREIN WITH AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF SAID MATERIAL, WITHDRAWING THE MATERIAL CONTAINING ABSORBED ACIDIC GASES FROM SAID SECOND ZONE, REMOVING ABSORBED ACIDIC GASES FROM SAID MATERIAL WITHDRAWN FROM SAID SECOND ZONE, AND RETURNING THE RESULTING MATERIAL HAVING ACIDIC GASES REMOVED THEREFROM TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND ZONES TO FORM AT LEAST A PART OF THE ABSORBING MATERIAL EMPLOYED THEREIN.