Continuous chromatographic separation process

Claim 1

IN A CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION PROCESS FOR TREATING A SUPPLY STREAM OF A CARRIER GAS AND A VAPOUR MIXTURE HAVING A PLURALITY OF COMPONENTS TO BE SEPARATED, SAID COMPONENTS HAVING DIFFERENT EQUILIBRIUM DISTRUBTIONS BETWEEN THE STATIONARY AND MOBILE PHASES THEREOF, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES FEEDING TO A SUPPLY LINE SAID VAPOUR MIXTURE AND SAID CARRIER GAS IN ALTERNATE PULSES AT FIXED FREQUENCY OF A MULTIPLICITY OF CYCLES PER MINUTE TO PROVIDE A SUPPLY STREAM HAVING THEREIN A PERIODIC WAVE OF FIXED FREQUENCY AND WHEREIN SAID VAPOUR MIXTURE VARIES SINUSOIDALLY OVER A VARIABLE CONCENTRATION RANGE IN SAID CARRIER GAS, CONTINUOUSLY FEEDING SAID SUPPLY STREAM THROUGH SAID SUPPLY LINE AT A CONSTANT RATE TO THE INLET OF A CHROMATOGRAPHIC COLUMN, SAID COLUMN DIFFERNETIALLY RETARDING THE PASSAGE OF SAID COMPONENTS THERETHROUGH, SAID COMPONENTS IN SAID SUPPLY STREAM DURING PASSAGE THEREOF THROUGH SAID COLUMN EACH THERBY HAVING A WAVE GENERATED BY SAID PERIODIC WAVE OF MUTUALLY DIFFERNET PHASE RELATTION AS A RESULT OF SAID DIFFERENT EQUILIBRUM DISTRIBUTIONS, SAID SUPPLY STREAM DURING SAID PASSAGE THEREBY SPLITTING INTO STREAM PORTIONS OF DIFFERENTIAL WAVE FOM EACH RICH IN A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID COMPONENTS, AND SEPARATING SAID STREAM PORTIONS FROM EACH OTHER AS THEY EMERGE FROM SAID COLUMN.