TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Apparatus: The apparatus of the preceding Claim comprising a catalytic oxidation reactor having an inlet, an outlet, and catalytic material adapted to promote the reaction of oxygen with hydrogen and/or methane, wherein the outlet of the catalytic oxidation reactor is in flow communication with the inlet of the pressure swing adsorption system. The adsorber vessel contains adsorbent material adapted to be selective for the adsorption of water and/or carbon dioxide from a mixture comprising water and/or carbon dioxide, and comprising argon and nitrogen. The getter vessel has an inlet, an outlet, and a bed of getter material adapted to chemisorb hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide. The outlet of the vessel is in flow communication with the inlet of the pressure swing adsorption system. The apparatus comprises a catalytic oxidation reactor having an inlet, an outlet, and a catalytic material adapted to promote the reaction of oxygen with hydrogen and/or methane, a getter vessel having an inlet, an outlet and a bed of getter material adapted to chemisorb hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide. The inlet of the vessel is in flow communication with the outlet of the catalytic oxidation reactor, and pressure swing adsorption system.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Conditions: The average operating temperature is 15-50 degrees C. The pressure range (I) is 100-300 psia. The nitrogen concentration in the feed gas mixture is 0.005-5 volume%. Preferred Components: The nitrogen-selective adsorbent is X-type zeolite chosen from calcium-type adsorbent (CaX), lithium-sodium-type (LiNaX), lithium-type adsorbent (LiX) and silver-lithium adsorbent (AgLiX). The X-type zeolite has silicon to aluminum ratio of 1-1.25. A reject gas containing a portion of the argon in the feed gas mixture is produced in regeneration steps, and a portion of the reject gas is recycled and combined with the feed gas mixture. The feed gas mixture comprises oxygen, and portion(s) of oxygen is removed by catalytic reaction with hydrogen and/or methane with respect to the pressure swing adsorption process. The feed gas mixture comprises hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide, and at least a portion of the hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide is removed by contact with a bed of getter material with respect to the pressure swing adsorption process. The getter material is chosen from copper on an alumina support and nickel on an alumina support. The feed gas mixture comprises oxygen, and hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide, and portion(s) of oxygen is removed by catalytic reaction with hydrogen and/or methane to produce an oxygen-depleted gas comprising water and/or carbon dioxide, and hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide. The oxygen-depleted gas is contacted with a bed of getter material to remove portion(s) of the hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide with respect to the pressure swing adsorption process. The feed gas comprises 1C or 2C hydrocarbon. Preferred Process: An argon is recovered by providing a feed gas mixture comprising argon, the contaminants such as nitrogen, oxygen and 1C or 2C hydrocarbon(s) and contaminant such as hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide, and optionally water and/or carbon dioxide, removing at least portion of oxygen by catalytic reaction with hydrogen and/or methane to produce an oxygen-depleted gas enriched in water and/or carbon dioxide, contacting oxygen-depleted gas with bed of getter material, where at least a portion of the hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide is removed to produce an intermediate gas, contacting the intermediate gas mixture with adsorbent material in a cyclic pressure swing adsorption process and selectively adsorbing at least a portion of the contaminant gases in pressure range (I) above atmospheric pressure to provide a purified argon product and adsorbent material comprising adsorbed contaminants, and regenerating the adsorbent material comprising adsorbed contaminants in regeneration steps effected in a pressure range (II) between atmospheric pressure and super-atmospheric pressure below any pressure in the pressure range (I). The pressure swing adsorption process utilizes at least one adsorber vessel containing three layers of adsorbent material, layer (I) comprising an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs water and/or carbon dioxide from argon, layer (II) comprising an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs from argon carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide and/or 1C or 2C hydrocarbon(s) and layer (III) comprising an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs nitrogen from argon. The regeneration steps produce reject gas containing portion of the argon in the feed gas mixture, and portion of the reject gas is recycled and combined with the feed gas mixture. The portion of the purified argon product is utilized in a process which generates the feed gas mixture, and the process is preferably chosen from sinter hot isostatic pressing, vacuum furnace cooling and argon oxygen decarburization (AOD).