Simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography has received significant attention in the last decade, particularly as regards the production of very valuable products, such as enantiomerically pure pharmaceutical compounds. Recent applications in the pharmaceutical industry use SMB systems containing a low total number chromatographic columns, usually four to eight. This paper deals with the modeling and simulation of SMB systems with only four, five and six columns. In particular, two modeling strategies, the equivalent true moving bed and the real SMB models, are compared for these units in terms of separation regions and system productivity. Also, the recently proposed Varicol process is analyzed and compared with the classical SMB operation, and the advantages of this new operation mode are shown for systems using a low number of columns.
Simulated moving bed (SMB) technology developed by UOP in early 1960s has expanded greatly in the last decade, finding new applications in the area of natural products, fine chemistry and pharmaceutical industry. SMB processes are periodic processes designed to operate in cyclic steady state (CSS) and, therefore, the correct determination of CSS is needed for the assessment of the SMB performance. Two approaches can be used for determination of CSS: the dynamic simulation until CSS is reached and direct prediction of CSS. The direct prediction of CSS could be obtained in two ways: (i) considering that at CSS the spatially distributed SMB unit state at the end of the cycle is identical to that at its beginning (Method 1); or (ii) considering that at CSS the spatially distributed SMB unit state at the end of a switching time interval is identical to the state at the beginning of the interval, apart from a shift of exactly one column length (Method 2). The mathematical models assume axial dispersion flow and linear driving force (LDF) approximation for intraparticle mass transfer. Mathematical models were solved using the g (general Process Modelling System) software package. Both approaches (dynamic simulation and direct CSS prediction) were applied to the prediction of cyclic steady state of SMB unit for 1,1′-bi-2-naphthol enantiomers separation. The direct CSS predictions were compared with the standard dynamic simulation CSS prediction in terms of accuracy of SMB performance and computing time requirements; the Method 2 for CSS prediction is more efficient than the standard dynamic simulation.
