Patent ID: 7507274

Claim:
A process for separating a first fluid from a fluid mixture comprising the first fluid, the process comprising: (A) flowing the fluid mixture in a microchannel separator in contact with a sorption medium and cooling the fluid mixture and the sorption medium to sorb at least part of the first fluid on the sorption medium, the fluid mixture and the sorption medium being cooled by a cooled heat exchange fluid in at least one heat exchange channel, the at least one heat exchange channel being in thermal contact with the sorption medium, removing non-sorbed parts of the fluid mixture from the microchannel separator, flowing the cooled heat exchange fluid out of the at least one heat exchange channel, heating the cooled heat exchange fluid to form a heated heat exchange fluid; and (B) heating the sorption medium to desorb first fluid from the sorption medium, the sorption medium being heated using the heated heat exchange fluid formed in step (A), the heated heat exchange fluid being in at least one heat exchange channel, the at least one heat exchange channel being in thermal contact with the sorption medium, removing desorbed first fluid from the microchannel separator, flowing the heated heat exchange fluid out of the at least one heat exchange channel, cooling the heated heat exchange fluid to form a cooled heat exchange fluid, the cooled heat exchange fluid being used in step (A) to cool the fluid mixture and the sorption medium.