2×7 rotary valve

An adsorption based separation process, wherein the process uses an adsorption based separation apparatus comprising:

• (i) a plurality of adsorbent beds, each of the adsorbent beds having a feed end and a product end;
• and (ii) a rotary valve assembly comprising a housing and a rotor rotatably mounted within the housing;
• and (iii) a motor driving rotation of the rotor of the rotary valve assembly:
• wherein the housing has a feed port for introduction of a feed stream, a product port for withdrawal of a product stream, and a plurality of pairs of bed ports, each pair of bed ports of the plurality of pairs of bed ports being connected in fluid flow communication to a different one of the plurality of adsorbent beds, each pair of bed ports consisting of a feed end bed port for sending fluid to or receiving fluid from a feed end of the adsorbent bed to which it is connected and a product end bed port for sending fluid to or receiving fluid from a product end of the adsorbent bed to which it is connected;
• wherein the rotor comprises a component that has a first end surface, a side surface and a second end surface and contains a plurality of channels that are separate from each other and comprise at least a feed channel and a product channel, said component being a unitary component or a component formed of two or more parts that are rigidly attached to each other;
• wherein the first and second end surfaces of the rotor form flat sealing surfaces with the housing,
• the feed channel has a first opening in the first end surface that is in fluid flow communication with the feed port,
• the product channel has a first opening in the second end surface that is in fluid flow communication with the product port, and
• the feed channel has a second opening in the first end surface that can, via rotation of the rotor within the housing, be brought into and out of alignment and hence fluid flow communication with each feed end bed port, and the product channel has a second opening in the second end surface that can, via rotation of the rotor within the housing, be brought into and out of alignment and hence fluid flow communication with each product end bed port, such that via rotation of the rotor within the housing the second openings of the feed and product channels can be brought into and out of fluid flow communication with each pair of bed ports;
• and
• wherein the process comprises:
• introducing the feed stream into the feed port of the rotary valve assembly, the feed stream comprising two or more components;
• operating the motor so as to rotate the rotor of the rotary valve assembly so as to cyclically bring each adsorbent bed into and out of fluid flow communication with the feed and product channels of the rotor;
• for each adsorbent bed, when the adsorbent bed is in fluid flow communication with the feed and product channels of the rotor, delivering the feed stream from the feed channel to the adsorbent bed, adsorbing one or more components of the feed stream preferentially to one or more other components of the feed stream so as to produce the product stream, which is enriched in said one or more other components of the feed stream, and withdrawing the product stream from the adsorbent bed into the product channel;
• withdrawing the product stream from the product port of the rotary valve assembly;
• and
• for each adsorbent bed, during a period of time when the adsorbent bed is not in fluid flow communication with the feed and product channels of the rotor, desorbing adsorbed components of the feed gas stream from the adsorbent bed and withdrawing a blowdown stream from the adsorbent bed comprising said desorbed components.