Patent ID: 7132008

Claim:
Apparatus for carrying out a dehydration process, comprising the following elements: (a) an absorber, having a wet gas inlet line, a dehydrated gas outlet line, a liquid desiccant inlet line and a spent liquid desiccant outlet line, and being adapted to bring wet gas into water-partitioning contact with a liquid desiccant; (b) a membrane separation unit, having a feed inlet line, a feed outlet line, and a permeate outlet line, and containing an inorganic membrane having a feed side and a permeate side, and characterized by the ability to provide pervaporation separation factors of at least about 100 in favor of water over liquid desiccant and in favor of water over benzene when used to treat a liquid desiccant stream containing about 5 wt % water and 1 wt % benzene at 200° C.; (c) a first connection line connecting the membrane separation unit feed inlet line and the absorber spent liquid desiccant outlet line, so that spent liquid desiccant may pass out of the absorber and into the membrane separation unit; (d) a second connection line connecting the membrane separation unit feed outlet line and the liquid desiccant inlet line, so that regenerated liquid desiccant may pass out of the membrane separation unit and into the absorber; (e) a heater positioned in the first connection line between the absorber and the membrane separation unit to enable spent liquid desiccant to be heated before entering the membrane separation unit.