Patent ID: 7201019

Claim:
A method of separating at least one light component from a carbon dioxide containing gaseous mixture having at least about 30 mole percent carbon dioxide, said method comprising: obtaining a first two-phase stream by at least cooling a pressurized feed stream composed of the gaseous carbon dioxide containing mixture such that said pressurized feed stream is partially condensed; degasifying the first two-phase stream to produce a first vapor stream enriched in the at least one light component and a first liquid stream containing an entrained fraction of the at least one light component; creating a second two-phase stream by at least expanding said first liquid stream; degasifying the second two-phase stream to produce a second vapor stream enriched in the at least one light component and a second liquid stream having an enriched carbon dioxide content; compressing said second vapor stream; and combining said second vapor stream with said first vapor stream to obtain a combined vapor stream.