Patent ID: 7569710

Claim:
In the process or recovering ethylene oxide from a vaporous reaction stream containing ethylene oxide, CO 2 , formaldehyde, acetylaldehyde, and organic acidic compounds comprising: absorption of ethylene oxide and a portion of said CO 2 , formaldehyde, acetylaldehyde, and organic acidic compounds in water to form an absorption stream; contacting said absorption stream with steam to strip ethylene oxide, CO 2 , formaldehyde, acetylaldehyde, and organic acidic compounds from said absorption stream to form a stripping stream condensing water, formaldehyde, a portion of the ethylene oxide, acetaldehyde and organic acidic compounds; and recovering a vaporous ethylene oxide product stream; and contacting the vaporous ethylene oxide product stream in an EO absorber where it is countercurrently washed with recirculated EO-free process water to absorb the ethylene oxide to produce EO containing absorbate: wherein the improvement comprises sending a portion comprising 10-90% of the dilute EO containing absorbate from the EO absorber directly to a EO reabsorber/residual absorber where said dilute EO containing absorbate absorbs additional EO from an EO stripper overhead vapor to produce high-purity EO/water solution of the desired EO concentration for use as feed to a glycol production reaction.