Timing cycle for improved heatless fractionation of gaseous materials

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE REMOVAL OF A KEY COMPONENT FROM A GASEOUS MIXTURE STREAM UTILIZING A FIRST AND A SECOND ADSORBENT BED EACH OF WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY HAVING A ONE END AND ANOTHER END, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF FLOWING A FEED STREAM OF A GASEOUS MIXTURE INCLUDING A KEY COMPONENT FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER END THROUH A FIRST BED OF AN ADSORBENT INTIALLY RELATIVELY FREE OF SAID KEY COMPONENT AT A PRESELECTED INITIAL RELARIVELY HIGH PRESSURE AND IN A POSITIVE FLOW DIRECTION IN AN INITIAL CYCLE, SAID ADSORBENT BEING PREFERENTIALLY SELECTIVE FOR SAID KEY COMPONENT; DISCHARGING SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE STREAM FROM SAID FIRST BED AS A PRIMARY EFFLUENT PRODUCT; REDUCING THE PRESSURE AT SAID ONE END OF SAID SECOND BED, DESORBING SAID KEY COMPONENT FROM SAID SECOND BED IN REVERSE FLOW FROM SAID OTHER END TO SAID ONE END, WHEREBY AS SAID INITIAL CYCLE CONTINUES, SAID FIRST BED BECOMES RELATIVELY SATURATED WITH SAID KEY COMPONENT PROGRESSIBELY FROM SAID ONE END TOWARD SAID OTHER END, AND WHEREBY SAID SECOND BED BECOMES RELATIVELY FREE FROM SAID KEY COMPONENT FROM SAID OTHER END TOWARD SAID ONE END; DISCONTINUING THE DESORPTION OF SAID KEY COMPONENT FROM SAID SECOND BED AT A TIME CORRESPONDING TO THE COMPLETION OF 50 TO 85% OF THE ADSORPTION CYCLE ON SAID FIRST BED; UTILIZING PRIMARY EFFLUENT FROM SAID FIRST BED TO REPRESSURE SAID SECOND BED AT SAID OTHER END TO SAID RELATIVELY HIGH PRESSURE, THEREAFTER FLOWING A FEED STREAM OF A GASEOUS MATERIAL INTO SAID SECOND BED AT SAID ONE END; REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON SAID FIRST BED AT SAID ONE END, WHEREBY SAID KEY COMPONENT WILL BE DESORBED AND PASS IN REVERSE FLOW FROM SAID OTHER END TO SAID ONE END; DISCONTINUING THE DESORPTION OF SAID FIRST BED PRIOR TO THE TIME WHEN SAID SECOND BED BECOMES SATURATED WITH SAID KEY COMPONENT AND REPRESSURING SAID FIRST BED FROM SAID OTHER END WITH PRODUCT FROM SAID SECOND BED AND THEREAFTER CONTINUING THE CYCLE.