Continuous sorption process with emphasis on product purity

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUSLY SEPARATING THE COMPONENTS OF A MIXTURE OF FLUIDS, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH IS SELECTIVELY RETAINED BY CONTACT OF THE MIXTURE WITH A SOLID SORBENT AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER COMPONENT OF WHICH IS RELATIVELY LESS SORBED BY THE SORBENT, IN WHICH PROCESS A FEED INLET STREAM COMPRISING SAID FEED MIXTURE IS CONTINUOUSLY AND SUCCESSIVELY CHARGED INTO EACH ZONE OF A PLURALITY OF SERIALLY INTERCONNECTED CONTACT ZONES, EACH ZONE CONTAINING A FIXED MASS OF SAID SORBENT, A STREAM OF DESORBENT CAPABLE OF DISPLACING SELECTIVELY RETAINED SORBATE COMPONENT FROM SAID SORBENT IS SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY CHARGED INTO A DOWNSTREAM CONTACT ZONE CONTAINING SORBATE COMPONENT RETAINED BY THE SORBENT IN THE LAST PREVIOUS CYCLE OF OPERATION, AN OUTLET STREAM COMPRISING RELATIVELY LESS SORBED COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE IS SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWN FROM A ZONE BETWEEN THE INLET OF SAID ZONE RECEIVING THE FEED STREAM AND THE INLET OF THE ZONE RECEIVING SAID DESORBENT, A MIXTURE OF SORBATE COMPONENT AND DESORBENT IS SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWN THROUGH A SORBATE OUTLET BETWEEN THE INLET THE ZONE RECEIVING DESORBENT AND THE INLET OF THE ZONE RECEIVING SAID FEED STREAM, A RECYCLE STREAM OF FLUID IS CON-