Patent ID: 7536873

Claim:
A process for cooling a gas by direct heat exchange with a cooling liquid, said process comprising: introducing gas ( 1 ) into the lower region of a direct contact cooler ( 2 ), introducing a first stream of cooling liquid ( 8 ) into the direct contact cooler ( 2 ) at a point above the point of introduction of said gas ( 1 ), removing cooled gas ( 5 ) from the direct contact cooler ( 2 ) at a point above the point of introduction of said gas ( 1 ), and drawing off a liquid backflow ( 10 ) from the lower region of the direct contact cooler ( 2 ), wherein the temperature of said liquid backflow is adjusted by introducing a second stream of cooling liquid ( 13 ), whose temperature is lower than that of said liquid backflow ( 10 ), into said liquid backflow at least for some period(s) of time, and wherein the first stream of cooling liquid ( 7 , 8 ) and the second stream of cooling liquid ( 12 , 13 ) are branched off from a main stream of cooling liquid ( 6 ), and the second stream of cooling liquid ( 12 , 13 ) is routed past the direct contact cooler ( 2 ).