The third-generation continuous adsorption systems

Adsorption is one of the most common unit operations in chemical engineering, but there are some defects in whether the most frequently used fixed-bed adsorption system or the continuous moving-bed system, such as low material usage rate and numerous valves (the former); high running energy consumption and complex system structure (the latter). Herein, a new-type multiposition multiport valve with many variant structures was developed. Through the use of the multiport valves combined with the innovation of the system structures, a new generation of continuous adsorption systems was constructed. The structures and operation of the systems were greatly simplified through the modular design, by which the number of valves was reduced by 77% − 80% compared with the fixed-bed system. Because of the feasibility of series-wound or shunt-wound adsorption and elution of any number of columns, the usage rate of the adsorption materials is greatly improved. Particularly, since the rotational motion of the adsorption columns was replaced by the operation of the multiport valves, the running energy consumption was less than half of that of the continuous moving-bed system. The developed systems successfully avoid these problems in the previous two generations of adsorption systems and thus have a broad application prospect.