Patent ID: 8722955

Claim:
A device for separating a feed F by simulated moving bed adsorption, said device comprising: a plurality of elementary adsorption zones Z i in series operating in a closed loop, termed ordinary zones, each of said ordinary zones comprising, between two successive points for sequential injection of feed or eluent, or for sequential extraction of extract or raffinate, a unique bed L i of solid adsorbant with volume VA i and a volume for circulation in the loop which is empty of adsorbant, termed the non-selective void volume V i , and at least one elementary zone Z 0 termed the singular elementary zone, comprising: (a) an overall dead volume V 0 which is higher than the dead volume V i of an ordinary elementary zone Z i and/or (b) a unique bed L 0 of solid adsorbant with volume VA 0 which is less than VA, in which the same solid adsorbant S is incorporated in the beds of the various ordinary zones, and an average solid adsorbant S 0 for the bed of said singular elementary zone(s) Z 0 , the mean diameter of the particles dp 0 of the solid adsorbant S 0 being less than the mean diameter dp of the solid adsorbant S in the ordinary elementary zones and linked thereto by the inequalities: dp ⁢ LA 0 LA < dp 0 ≤ dp ⁢ LA 0 LA in which expression LA and LA 0 , respectively, designate the length of the bed of adsorbant in an ordinary zone and the length of the bed of adsorbant in the singular zone under consideration.