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Comparison of configurations of a four-column simulated moving bed process by multi-objective optimization

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Abstract

Configurations of a four-column simulated moving bed chromatographic process are investigated by multi-objective optimization. Various existing column configurations are compared through a multi-objective optimization problem. Furthermore, an approach based on an SMB superstructure is applied to find novel configurations which have been found to outperform the standard SMB configuration. An efficient numerical optimization technique is applied to the mathematical model of the SMB process. It has been confirmed that although the optimal configuration highly depends on the purity requirement, the superstructure approach is able to find the most efficient configuration without exploring various existing configurations.

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Abbreviations

\(\bar{u}_{D}\) :

Total desorbent velocity supplied to SMB

\(\bar{u}_{F}\) :

Total feed velocity supplied to SMB

Δp max  :

Maximum column pressure

ε b :

Void fraction

ε p :

Upper bound in ε constraint method

C j i (x,t):

Concentration in liquid phase

C j,eq i (x,t):

Equilibrium concentration

C F,i :

Feed concentration

i :

Component

j :

Column index

k :

Darcy constant

K i :

Henry constant

K appl  i :

Liquid-phase based mass transfer coefficient

L :

Column length

m :

Zone index

N c :

Number of components

N m :

Number of columns in Zone m

N Column :

Number of columns

N COL :

Number of collocation points in a temporal finite element

N FET :

Number of finite elements in temporal domain

N FEX :

Number of finite elements in spatial domain

Prod :

Index of desired product in extract

Pur min  :

Purity demand

q j i (x,t):

Concentration in adsorbent in jth column

Rec min  :

Recovery demand

t step :

Step time

u j :

Liquid velocity in column j

u j D :

Desorbent velocity supplied to column j

u j E :

Extract velocity withdrawn from column j

u j F :

Feed velocity supplied to column j

u j R :

Raffinate velocity withdrawn from column j

u l :

Lower bound on u j

u u :

Upper bound on u j

x :

Distance

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Author notes

  1. Yoshiaki Kawajiri

    Present address: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Yoshiaki Kawajiri & Lorenz T. Biegler

Authors
  1. Yoshiaki Kawajiri
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  2. Lorenz T. Biegler
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Correspondence to Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

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Kawajiri, Y., Biegler, L.T. Comparison of configurations of a four-column simulated moving bed process by multi-objective optimization. Adsorption 14, 433–442 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-007-9074-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-007-9074-9

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