Patent ID: 7763767

Claim:
A process for selective para-xylene adsorption comprising the steps of: A) feeding a feedstock containing para-xylene to an adsorption unit; B) adsorbing said feedstock in said adsorption unit with a solid particulate adsorbent useful for adsorbing at least one component from said feedstock under adsorption conditions; C) withdrawing adsorbed feedstock from said adsorption unit; D) desorbing said adsorbed component from said solid particulate adsorbent; and E) removing, under said adsorption conditions, at least a portion of said solid particulate adsorbent while said feedstock is being fed to said adsorption unit, wherein said portion is more than 0.1 wt. % of said solid particulate adsorbent in said adsorption unit and wherein said solid particulate adsorbent removal occurs during a fraction of the time of step (B), said fraction being less than about 95% of the time of step (B) wherein said step (E) further comprises removing said solid particulate adsorbent from a plurality of locations in said adsorption unit.