Regeneration of liquid drying agents or absorbents - by stripping with hot hydrocarbon vapour in a column

Regeneration of (A) liq. drying agents or absorbents for acid gases comprises (1) feeding into the top of a regenerating column, (2) vaporising a hydrocarbon (B), which is insoluble in (A) or in water, and which boils between the upper and lower critical soln. temps. of its mixts. with (A) under the press. used, by application of heat, (3) passing the hot vapour up through (A) in the column, as the only source of heat for regeneration, (4) condensing the vapour from the column and sepg. (B) from water, (5) sepg. the two-phase mixt. of (A) and (B) from the column, and (6) vaporising (B) and returning it to the column. Used for drying of 2-12C glycols esp. triethylene glycol (I), or mixts. of these with 2-9C alkanolamines, esp. mixts. of (I) and diethanolamine. These may also contain N-methyl pyrrolidone or sulfolan. The process is for regeneration of digly colamine or diethylene glycol. Water and/or acid gases are removed from (A) without overheating and decompsn., e.g. by contact with heat exchanger surfaces.