Patent ID: 7674321

Claim:
A process for the removal of sour gas from pressurized natural gas which is polluted by sulphur compounds and other sour gas compounds, comprising: initially feeding natural gas, which is to be desulphurized, into a sour gas absorption unit, in which the sulphur components are absorbed by a physically acting solution thus yielding a sour-gas rich absorbent; heating the sour-gas rich absorbent; feeding the sour-gas rich absorbent into a high-pressure flash unit, in which desorbed sour gas is separated yielding a sour-gas poor absorbent; cooling the desorbed sour gas and condensing the vaporized absorbent out of the sour gas stream; freeing the sour-gas-poor absorbent from the high-pressure flash unit from residual sour gas in a gas stripping unit by means of stripping gas; and cooling and recycling the absorbent obtained to the sour gas absorption unit, wherein a pressure is set in the high-pressure flash unit that permits the desorbed sour gas to be condensed by means of cooling water or cooling air, wherein the absorbent contained in the desorbed sour gas is condensed and admixed to the sour gas rich absorbent prior to heating the sour gas rich absorbent.