Multi-chamber adsorbent gas fractionator with non-jamming effluent flow control valve

Apparatus for reducing the concentration of a first gas in a mixture thereof with a second gas to below a limiting maximum concentration thereof in the second gas, comprising, in combination, a pair of vessels;

• a chamber in each vessel for a bed of particulate friable sorbent having a preferential affinity for the first gas;
• an influent line for delivering influent gas to each sorbent chamber;
• an influent flow control valve in the influent line for directing the influent gas to the one of the chambers that is on-stream for adsorption;
• an effluent line for delivering effluent gas from each sorbent chamber;
• an effluent flow control valve in the effluent line for directing the effluent gas from the chamber that is on-stream for adsorption;
• the effluent valve comprising a valve housing;
• a valve chamber in the housing having separate substantially vertically oriented inlets and inlet passages leading thereinto, one from the effluent line from each sorbent chamber;
• a substantially horizontally oriented valve seat across each inlet;
• and a free-rolling ball valve seating against the valve seats and responsive to effluent line gas pressure at each inlet related to downstream pressure displacing the ball upwardly away from the valve seat into the valve chamber and opening the inlet leading from the sorbent chamber on-stream for adsorption, directing the ball to seat at the valve seat across the other inlet leading from the sorbent chamber off-stream for adsorption and close that inlet, thereby preventing effluent gas flow through that inlet into the off-stream chamber;
• and a bleed line in the housing for effluent purge gas flow bypassing the closed inlet and interconnecting at least one of the valve chamber and the substantially vertically oriented inlet passages with one of the effluent lines for reverse purge flow of effluent gas from the inlet passage with a change of flow direction from the direction of flow in the inlet passage and thence through the effluent line into the sorbent chamber that is off-stream for adsorption but on-stream for regeneration to regenerate the sorbent bed with such purge flow.