Continuous adsorption-desorption process

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUSLY SEPARATING A MIXTURE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS CAPABLE OF BEING SELECTIVELY ADSORBED BY CONTACT IN THE LIQUID PHASE WITH A SOLID ADSORBENT, WHICH COMPRISES, CONTINUOUSLY MOVING PARTICLES OF A SOLID ADSORBENT AGGREGATED INTO A COLUMNAR MASS DOWNWARDLY BY GRAVITY FLOW THROUGH AN ADSORPTION ZONE, SAID PARTICLES OF SOLID ADSORBENT BEING IN A SIZE RANGE OF FROM 3 TO 10 MESH, CONTINUALLY FEEDING SAID MIXTURE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN THE LIQUID PHASE AT AN INTERMEDIATE POINT INTO SAID ADSORPTION ZONE INTO CONTACT WITH THE MOVING PARTICLES OF ADSORBENT CONTINUALLY WITHDRAWING A LIQUID NONADSORBED COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE FROM THE UPPER END OF SAID ADSORPTION ZONE, CONTINUALLY WITHDRAWING SAID PARTICELS OF SOLID ADSORBENT TOGETHER WITH AN ADSORBED COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID ADSORPTION ZONE AND PASSING SAME TO THE UPPER END OF A DESORPTION ZONE, CONTINUALLY MOVING SAID PARTICLES OF SOLID ADSORBENT AGGREGATED INTO COLUMNAR MASS DOWNWARDLY BY GRAVITY FLOW THROUGH SAID DESORPTION ZONE, MAINTAINING A COLUMN OF A LIQUID DESORBENT IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE, SAID LIQUID DESORBENT BEING LESS STRONGLY ADSORDED BY SAID SOLID ADSORBENT THAN SAID ADSORBED COMPONENT AND HAVING A BOILING POINT GREATER THAN SAID ADSORBED COMPONENT, MAINTAINING A DECREASING TEMPERATURE GRADIENT FROM THE SURFACE OF SAID LIQUID DESORBENT TO THE TOP OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE, THE TEMPERATURE IN THE TOP OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE BEING LOWER THAN THE BOILING POINT OF SAID DESORBENT AND SAID ADSORBED COMPONENT, THE TEMPERATURE AT THE SURFACE OF SAID LIQUID DESORBENT BEING AT LEAST AS GREAT AS THE BOILING POINT OF THE DESORBENT SO AS TO CAUSE DESORBENT VAPORS TO RISE IN SAID DESORPTION ZONE AND CONTACT SAID DOWNWARDLY MOVING PARTICLES OF SOLID ADSORBENT THEREBY DESORBING AND VAPORIZING SAID ADSORBED COMPONENT AND CONDENSING SAID DESORBENT VAPORS, SEPARATING SAID DESORBED COMPONENT AND SAID DESORBENT IN THAT PORTION OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE ABOVE SAID COLUMN OF LIQUID DESORBENT BY UTILIZING THE PARTICLES OF SOLID ADSORBENT CONTAINED THEREIN AS PACKING IN A FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION ZONE, RETURNING SAID CONDENSED DESORBENT TO THE SURFACE OF SAID LIQUID DESORBENT, CONTINUALLY WITHDRAWING SEPARATED VAPOROUS DESORBED COMPONENT FROM THE TOP OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE, CONTINUALLY WITHDRAWING PARTICLES OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE, SORBENT TOGETHER WITH ADSORBED DESORBENT FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE AND PASSING SAME TO THE TOP OF SAID ADSORPTION ZONE INTO CONTACT WITH SAID LIQUID NON-ADSORBED COMPONENT SO AS TO DESORB SAID DESORBENT, CONTINUALLY WITHDRAWING SAID DESROBENTD FROM THE TOP OF SAID ADSORPTION ZONE ALONG WITH SAID NON-ADSORBED COMPONENT.