Continuous sorption process employing fixed bed of sorbent and moving inlets and outlets

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR SEPARATING THE COMPONENTS OF A MIXTURE OF FLUID COMPONUDS, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH IS SELECTIVELY SORBED BY CONTACT WITH A SOLID SORBENT AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER COMPONENT IS RELATIVELY LESS SORBED BY THE SORBENT WHICH IS CAPABLE OF HAVING ITS SORBENCY RESTORED BY DISPLACING SELECTIVELY SORBED COMPONENTS THEREFROM, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING THE STEPS: INTRODUCING FEED STOCK CONTAINING SAID MIXTURE OF COMPOUNDS INTO ONE ZONE OF A FIXED BED OF SAID SOLID SORBENT CONTAINING AT LEAST 4 SERIALLY INTERCONNECTED ZONES HAVING FLUID FLOW CONNECTING MEANS BETWEEN ADJACENT ZONES AND BETWEEN THE OUTLET OF THE LAST ZONE AND THE INLET OF THE FIRST ZONE IN THE SERIES, TO THEREBY PROVIDE CYCLIC, FLUID FLOW IN SAID PROCESS, INTRODUCING A DESORBENT CAPABLE OF DISPLACING THE SELECTIVELY SORBED COMPONENT FROM SAID SORBENT INTO ANOTHER ZONE OF THE FIXED BED OF SORBENT WHICH IS DOWNSTREAM RELATIVE TO THE ZONE INTO WHICH SAID FEED STOCK IS CHARGED, SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWING RELATIVELY LESS SORBED COMPONENT FROM AN INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF SAID FIXED BED, BETWEEN THE ZONE INTO WHICH SAID FEED STOCK IS CHARGED AND THE ZONE INTO WHICH SAID DESORBENT IS CHARGED, SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWING A