Process for drying gas streams

Claim 1

In the process for drying a feedstock gas stream containing at least 1 ppm (v) water vapor wherein the gas stream is passed through a first primary fixed adsorbent bed of zeolitic molecular sieves to selectively adsorb the water vapor and recover an effluent gas stream of reduced water content, periodically diverting the feedstock gas stream to a second primary fixed adsorption bed containing regenerated molecular sieve adsorbent wherein adsorptive drying of the feedstock is continued and the first primary adsorption bed is purge desorbed using a heated non-sorbable purge gas stream and thereafter cooled in preparation for having the feedstock gas stream diverted thereinto for the drying of an additional portion thereof, the improvement which comprises cyclically passing the heated non-sorbable purge gas stream through the first primary adsorption bed in a direction counter-current to the direction of flow of the feedstock gas stream therethrough and subjecting the effluent from said bed to the sequence of treatments comprising (a) decreasing the temperature of said effluent at least 75° C.; (b) passing the cooled gas phase through an auxilliary fixed bed containing activated zeolitic molecular sieve whereby essentially all of the water vapor present therein is adsorbed; and (c) heating the effluent gas stream from said auxilliary fixed bed to the temperature desired for regeneration of the first primary fixed adsorption bed, and passing the heated gas stream into the first primary fixed bed to complete the cycle; continuing the aforesaid cyclic purge desorption until the desired degree of bed regeneration is accomplished and thereafter cooling the first primary fixed adsorption bed and simultaneously at least partially regenerating the auxilliary fixed bed by passing a cool non-sorbable gas stream through the first primary fixed bed in a direction counter-current to the direction of cyclic flow of heated purge gas therethrough and passing at least a portion of the heated effluent therefrom through the auxilliary fixed bed, the quantity of said cool non-sorbable purge gas being sufficient to cool the first primary fixed bed to the desired temperature for a subsequent resumption of adsorption-drying of feedstock gas stream therein and sufficient to at least partially regenerate the auxilliary fixed bed.