Patent ID: 7368000
Filing Date: 2008-05-06
Classification: B01D,C01B,Y02C

Abstract:
1. A method of recovering a noble gas from a gas mixture including the noble gas comprising: supplying the gas mixture to a gas chromatography column; separating the components of the gas mixture; exhausting other components of the gas mixture from the gas chromatography column; providing a purge gas to the chromatography column to draw the noble gas therefrom; exhausting a second gas mixture of noble gas and purge gas from the chromatography column; conveying the second gas mixture to a first separator comprising an adsorbent material; selectively adsorbing the noble gas using the adsorbent material and exhausting a purge gas-rich gas stream from the first separator; desorbing the noble gas from the adsorbent by evacuation or thermal regeneration to obtain a third gas mixture; conveying the third gas mixture to a second separator comprising a membrane separator; and separating the third gas mixture into a noble gas-rich stream and a noble gas-lean gas stream.