The “VARICOL” Process: A New Multicolumn Continuous Chromatographic Process

TLDR

The simulated moving bed (SMB) process, which synchronously shifts inlet and outlet lines, is the established benchmark for continuous chromatography. This work introduces the VARICOL process, a new continuous chromatographic method. VARICOL operates by non‑synchronously shifting inlet/outlet valves across multiple columns and is optimized for maximum productivity at given purities, as demonstrated by numerical comparisons to SMB. VARICOL delivers superior performance, achieving the same purities as a 6‑column SMB with only 5 columns, improving productivity by 18.5 %, and this advantage is experimentally validated.

Abstract

A new continuous chromatographic process is presented. This is in contrast to the known simulated moving bed (SMB) process which employs a synchronous shift of inlet/outlet lines. The basic principle of the new VARICOL process is based on a non-synchronous shift of the inlet/outlet valves in a multicolumn system. A numerical example compares the performances of the new VARICOL process to the well-known SMB process. This study shows that the VARICOL performances can be better than those of the SMB process. For example, a 5-columns VARICOL permits the same purities to be reached as a 6-columns SMB with the same productivity. Interest in the process is also validated experimentally. Both SMB and VARICOL are optimized to reach the highest achievable productivity for given outlet purities. The productivity of a 5-columns system can be improved 18.5% by using the VARICOL process.