Method of recovering a light element from a dilute feed

A method of recovering a light element comprising hydrogen or helium from a high pressure feed stream. The feed stream comprises the light element in a concentration of less than 30% by volume and also, hydrocarbons and trace heavy contaminants. Methane and nitrogen may be in the high pressure feed stream if derived from a natural gas source. The trace heavy contaminants are removed from the high pressure feed stream through absorption in one or more beds of activated carbon and the feed stream, still at high pressure, is passed through a membrane unit having a membrane design to allow permeation of the light element while rejection of the hydrocarbons, possibly methane, and nitrogen. The membrane unit produces a process stream enriched to somewhere above 40% in the light elements and a mass flow rate that is only a fraction of the mass flow rate of the feed stream. The process stream is then compressed and subjected to a pressure swing adsorption process utilizing one or more adsorbents to least absorb the hydrocarbons to produce a product stream highly enriched in the light element or 98% enriched and above. Since the mass flow rate of the process stream is very low, very little energy need be expended in compressing the process stream as compared with prior art processes using cryogenic rectification. Additionally, since the waste stream is rejected at pressure, if the pressure is high enough, it can simply be returned to a source of the feed stream without recompression or if not being supplied at a requisite high pressure, it can be recompressed with a blower and then returned to the supply.