Unsaturates recovery and recycle process

A process for recovering unreacted acetylene from an effluent stream of a process for synthesizing oxygenated hydrocarbons from unsaturated hydrocarbons, said stream containing unreacted unsaturated hydrocarbons, oxygenated reaction products, and low-boiling gaseous components selected from the group including CO, H.sub.2, CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 alkanes, nitrogen, helium, and argon, comprising:

• (a) partially condensing the effluent of the synthesis process to produce a liquid condensate enriched in the oxygenated reaction products and a gaseous stream enriched in the low boiling gaseous components;
• (b) stripping the liquid condensate with an essentially acetylene free gas to produce an acetylene-free oxygenated product and a gaseous stream enriched in acetylene and low boiling gaseous components;
• (c) combining the gaseous streams from step (a) and step (b) and cooling the combined stream;
• (d) heating the combined stream from step (c) in an absorber having reflux at the top to produce an overhead stream containing the low boiling gaseous components and substantially free of synthesis process product and acetylene and a bottoms stream of synthesis process product containing concentrated absorbed acetylene and;
• (e) recycling said bottoms stream to the synthesis process of step (a).