Liquid phase adsorption process

An adsorption process comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing an adsorption system comprising at least a first and second fixed adsorbent bed containing adsorbent particles and having void space not occupied by the adsorbent particles:
• (b) passing as a feedstock into the first of said adsorbent beds a mixture of at least two molecular species in the liquid phase of which at least one is selectively absorbed by the absorbent particles, and recovering from the bed a product having a lower concentration of the adsorbed species than the feedstock:
• (c) terminating the passage of feedstock into said first adsorbent bed at a time when the adsorbent therein retains sufficient capacity to adsorb the desired amount of the molecular species from the feedstock contained within the first said adsorbent bed, and directing the flow of the said feedstock in the liquid phase into the second of said fixed adsorbent beds, said second bed at the beginning of passage of feedstock thereinto containing in the void space a liquid purge medium different from the feedstock in step (b);
• (d) recovering said liquid purge medium from the void space of said second bed by displacement as a result of the passage of feedstock thereinto and passing said displaced liquid purge medium directly to the said first bed after the passage of feedstock into said first bed has been terminated in accordance with the process step (c) above, whereby the feedstock in the void space of said first bed is purged therefrom and
• (e) continuing the flow of feedstock into said second bed in the same manner as into said first bed in (b) and recovering a product of essentially the same composition as is recovered in step (b).