Production-Scale Adsorptive Separations of Liquid Mixtures by Simulated Moving-Bed Technology

Abstract The commercial use of liquid chromatography for separation of bulk components from mixtures has undergone a rapid expansion in recent years. This expansion has been accomplished largely by use of a flow scheme that realizes the process advantages of continuous countercurrent movement of liquid and solid without actual movement of the adsorbent. Since startup of the first such plant in 1963, a total of 60 units has been licensed in six different applications. These have an aggregate capacity in excess of five million tons per annum of selectively adsorbed purified product. The sequence of research and development studies leading to commercialization of this process are outlined, and the present and projected applications are reviewed.