Adsorptive separation utilizing multiple adsorption beds

Claim 1

A process for the production of high purity more selectively adsorbed key component from a gas mixture containing the key component and one or more less selectively adsorbed secondary components using a plurality of parallel adsorption beds which comprises: (a) drawing said gas mixture through the feed end of a first bed of adsorbent by connecting the effluent end of said bed to the effluent end of a parallel bed, which is presently evacuated, so as to selectively adsorb said key component on said first bed of adsorbent and allow said one or more secondary components to pass through said first bed; (b) cocurrently rinsing said first bed with high purity key component to remove any co-adsorbed secondary component and void space secondary component from said bed; (c) countercurrently desorbing said first bed by pressure reduction in one or more stages to a subatmospheric pressure to recover a rinse gas for another of said plurality of beds presently undergoing step (b) and a high purity key component product; (d) countercurrently repressurizing said first bed by connecting the effluent end of said first bed at its subatmospheric pressure at the end of step (c) with the effluent end of another of said plurality of beds presently undergoing the adsorption of step (a), and (e) continuing this series of steps with the plurality of beds to form a continuous process for production of high purity key component.