A process for separating air by cryogenic distillation, said process comprising the steps of: (i) passing a feed air stream through at least one rapid cycle pressure swing adsorption (RCPSA) device to remove at least one impurity selected from the group consisting of H 2 O, CO 2, N 2 O, and one or more hydrocarbons from said feed air stream to produce purified air; and (ii) feeding said purified air through a cryogenic distillation column system to separate said purified air into oxygen and/or nitrogen products wherein the rapid cycle pressure swing adsorption (RCPSA) device comprises at least two adsorber elements in parallel, wherein each adsorber element comprises at least one adsorbent laminate sheet, the adsorbent sheet comprising a support material coated with a composition comprising an adsorbent component and a binder; and wherein the adsorbent component comprises a mixture of a zeolite and at least one of alumina, a surface-treated alumina, and a silica gel, wherein the ratio of alumina, surface-treated alumina and/or silica gel to zeolite in the mixture is in the range from about 100:1 to 1:100, and wherein the adsorbent laminate sheet has a thickness in the range of from 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, wherein the adsorbent laminate sheet has a laminate adsorbent loading per laminate area in the range of from 10 g/m 2 to 170 g/m 2, and wherein the adsorbent laminate has a laminate adsorbent density in the range of from 0.08 g/cm 3 to 0.95 g/cm 3, wherein the linear velocity of the feed air is at least 2 m/s to less than 3 m/s, and wherein the process has a purge to air (P/A) ratio on a molar basis of at least 0.3, a feed pressure in the range of from 4 to 20 bar, and/or a feed temperature in the range of from 0 to 50 °C. (i) passing a feed air stream through at least one rapid cycle pressure swing adsorption (RCPSA) device to remove at least one impurity selected from the group consisting of H 2 O, CO 2, N 2 O, and one or more hydrocarbons from said feed air stream to produce purified air; and (ii) feeding said purified air through a cryogenic distillation column system to separate said purified air into oxygen and/or nitrogen products wherein the rapid cycle pressure swing adsorption (RCPSA) device comprises at least two adsorber elements in parallel, wherein each adsorber element comprises at least one adsorbent laminate sheet, the adsorbent sheet comprising a support material coated with a composition comprising an adsorbent component and a binder; and wherein the adsorbent component comprises a mixture of a zeolite and at least one of alumina, a surface-treated alumina, and a silica gel, wherein the ratio of alumina, surface-treated alumina and/or silica gel to zeolite in the mixture is in the range from about 100:1 to 1:100, and wherein the adsorbent laminate sheet has a thickness in the range of from 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, wherein the adsorbent laminate sheet has a laminate adsorbent loading per laminate area in the range of from 10 g/m 2 to 170 g/m 2, and wherein the adsorbent laminate has a laminate adsorbent density in the range of from 0.08 g/cm 3 to 0.95 g/cm 3, wherein the linear velocity of the feed air is at least 2 m/s to less than 3 m/s, and wherein the process has a purge to air (P/A) ratio on a molar basis of at least 0.3, a feed pressure in the range of from 4 to 20 bar, and/or a feed temperature in the range of from 0 to 50 °C.