The invention relates to a method for obtaining a pure product which contains aromatic compounds. The pure product is obtained by extractive distillation of a benzene which is rich in aromatic compounds, and olefins, diolefins and polyolefins being removed. The extractive distillation is followed by hydration of the resulting product stream which is rich in aromatic compounds and low in olefins, the alkylated aromatic compounds, especially toluol and xylols being dealkylated, and the paraffinic dealkylation products being reacted to give methane so that due to the nature of the hydration step after the extractive distillation the amount of hydrogen can be considerably reduced since the mixture of aromatic compounds is free of olefins and no hydrogen is required for olefin hydration.; The invention also relates to a device for carrying out said method, preferably a column being used for extractive distillation which column allows an extractive distillation with solvent recirculation, thereby eliminating the need for an additional stripping column for removing the extracted solvent.