Abstract: A process is described for stripping acidic gases, mainly hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide, from natural gas or synthesis gas, especially when the percentages of such acidic gases are high and the conventional processes become economically objectionable.The process is based on the use of a number of selective solvents, generally belonging to the class of esters, ethers, mixed ester-ethers and lactones, in combination with sequential absorbing cycles which start from the stripping of hydrogen sulphide, and comprise the regeneration of the solvents used by several expansion cycles: H.sub.2 S and CO.sub.2 are recovered and the regenerated solvents recycled.

Abstract: Low temperature treatments are combined with solvent treatments using particularly selective solvents for stripping acidic gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide from natural gas or from synthetic gases.The preferred solvents are a wide range of compounds having an esteric or an etheric function in their molecule, but there are also examples of compounds which have the two functions simultaneously.The stripping process is comparatively simple, is efficient, especially for high contents of acidic gases in the raw gas streams, and is economically acceptable.