| abstract |
Dehydration of a gaseous hydrocarbon mixture containing water, using methanol as the dehydration agent, and recovery of a condensed fraction of said mixture can be achieved simultaneously and with improved use of the methanol and improved separation of the mixture, and in apparatus which can be employed on an installation such as a tanker ship which is liable to movement and/or tilting, by chilling a gaseous composition comprising the water-containing mixture and methanol in passageway 18 of a reflux exchanger 6 in which condensed liquids flow downwards in direct contact with the rising gas and are collected in a gas/liquid separator 4 from which a condensed hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase can be recovered separately; dehydrated gas being recovered from the top of the passageway. |