N-Paraffin-isoparaffin separation process using wash of recycle purge gas

Claim 1

In a process for separating normal paraffins and non-normal paraffins from a vapor state mixture containing the same wherein (i) said mixture is passed through in sequence a plurality of fixed beds an adsorbent system containing a zeolitic molecular sieve adsorbent which selectively adsorbs normal paraffins, (ii) a non-sorbable purge gas is used to (a) desorb normals from each bed to provide an effluent containing desorbed normals in mixture with purge gas and (b) transfer non adsorbed non-normal paraffins from each bed to provide a separate effluent containing non-normal paraffins in mixture with purge gas (iii) the effluent of (ii) (a) is separated into a purge gas stream containing residuals of normals and a normal product stream and said purge gas stream recycled and (iv) the effluent of (ii) (b) is separated into a purge gas stream containing residual non-normals and a non-normal product stream and said purge gas is recycled, the improvement for lowering the residual content of either the normals of non-normals of recycle purge gas which comprises washing the purge gas from a selected effluent of either (ii) (a) or (ii) (b) prior to recycle to the adsorbent system with a portion of the product stream from the non-selected effluent, the effluent of (ii) (a) being selected for the lowering of normals content and the effluent of (ii) (b) being selected for the lowering of non-normals content.