Process and apparatus for recovering an organic solvent

摘要

The invention relates to a process for recovering an organic solvent during the drying of a fabric treated with the solvent in a dry cleaning machine or the like and an apparatus to carry it out. To recover the solvent, in such machines, a circulating air stream, after heating and contact with the fabric, is then cooled, reheated and again circulated over the fabric. In this case a part-stream is branched off from the air circulation circulating over the fabric in the region between cooling and the renewed contact with the fabric and, in a further circulation proceeding via an adsorber, is reintroduced into the drying circulation before being cooled again. In order to improve the efficiency of the recovery, according to the invention, during the drying, the part-stream branched off is first vigorously heated after its branching off in order to achieve an efficient desorption of the solvent in the adsorber and then without heating is passed directly to the adsorber after cooling, after its exit from the adsorber it being returned back to the drying circulation.