PERFORMANCE LIMITS IN INDUSTRIAL CHROMATOGRAPHIC-SEPARATION PROCESSES

Performance limits in large scale simulated moving bed ion exclusion o r ligand exchange chromatography are imposed by three basic variables, process design, column design and resin kinetics. A column de sign wi th specific internal flow straighteners has been developed to meet the need for uniform cross-sectional distribution/collection, and vertica l plug flow in large industrial size chromatography columns by dividin g the cross-sectional area of the column into smaller segments. It is suggested that maximum operating efficiency will be obtained through t he use of minimum resin particle size and narrow particle size distrib ution to maintain uniform sorption and de-sorption rates. Commercially available resins are tested in respect to their separating efficiency , It was demonstrated that gel-type cation exchange resins which have similar measurable properties such as % crosslinking (water content), operating capacity, mean particle size and particle size distribution, display similar kinetic properties in pulse tests for separating sucr ose from nonsugars.