Massimo Morbidelli

Optimal operation of simulated moving bed units for nonlinear chromatographic separations

The simulated moving bed (SMB) technology is receiving more and more attention as a convenient technique for the production scale continuous chromatographic separation of fine chemicals. Characteristic features of SMBs are improved performances with respect to preparative chromatography and nonlinear competitive adsorption behavior. The selection of the operating conditions to achieve high separation performances under nonlinear conditions is acknowledged to be the major problem in running a SMB unit for a new application. This problem is solved in this paper, where a general theory is developed which provides explicit criteria for the choice of the operating conditions of SMB units to achieve the prescribed separation of a mixture characterized by both constant selectivity Langmuir isotherms and variable selectivity modified Langmuir isotherms. The space of the operating parameters, i.e. the fluid to solid flow-rate ratios, is divided in regions with different separation regimes. The effect of increasing nonlinearity of the system on the operating conditions and the separation performances, namely desorbent requirement, enrichment, productivity and robustness of the separation, is thoroughly analyzed. The obtained results are shown to provide a very convenient tool to find both optimal and robust operating conditions of SMB units. Finally, a comparison between model predictions and experimental data dealing with the resolution of different racemic mixtures assesses the reliability and accuracy of the obtained theoretical findings.

Simulated moving-bed chromatography and its application to chirotechnology

The increased awareness of the differences in biological activity of the two enantiomers of a chiral drug has raised the demand for enantiomerically pure products, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Simulated moving-bed chromatography can be used for the separation of the two enantiomers of a chiral molecule, which is feasible at all production scales, from laboratory to pilot to production plant. The use of non-enantioselective synthesis of racemic mixtures and simulated moving-bed enantiomer separation might make the development process of a new chiral drug substantially shorter and cheaper.

PowerFeed operation of simulated moving bed units: changing flow-rates during the switching interval.

A possible way to improve the separation performance of simulated moving bed (SMB) units is to change the internal and external liquid flow-rates during the switching period. This operation mode, referred to as PowerFeed, is examined in this work through a model analysis. Similar to the Varicol process, which allows for the asynchronous movement of the ports, the PowerFeed process exhibits more degrees of freedom than the classical SMB process and therefore allows more room for optimization. Using an optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm, all three processes have been optimized for a few case studies in order to determine their relative potentials. It is found that PowerFeed and Varicol provide substantially equivalent performances, which are however significantly superior to those of the classical SMB process.

Continuous reactive chromatography

Abstract Reactive “simulated moving bed” chromatography (SMBR) is a continuous and counter-current operation combining chemical reaction and adsorptive separation within one single apparatus. Its application promises substantial improvements in process performance, especially for equilibrium limited reactions involving heat-sensitive products, as, for example, fine chemicals or pharmaceuticals. In this work, a general approach towards the design of a SMBR process is illustrated using the synthesis of methyl acetate, catalyzed by a sulfonated poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) resin, as a model system. Starting from a suitable mathematical representation of the experimentally determined adsorption thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, a model for a reactive chromatographic column is developed and validated. Based on an extension of this model, the SMBR process is investigated through numerical simulation, in order to identify the governing design parameters and to devise an efficient strategy towards process optimization both in terms of productivity and desorbent requirement. Finally, the feasibility of the process for the model system is proved experimentally using a SMBR unit of mini-plant scale.

Effect of shear rate on aggregate size and morphology investigated under turbulent conditions in stirred tank

Aggregation and breakage of aggregates produced from fully destabilized polystyrene latex particles in turbulent flow was studied experimentally in both batch and continuous stirred tank. Detailed investigation of the initial kinetics showed that the collision efficiency, alpha, depends on the shear rate according to alpha proportional to G(-b), with a power law exponent, b, equal to 0.18. After steady state was reached the dynamic response of the system on a change in stirring speed and solid volume fraction was investigated. It was found that the steady-state values of two measured moments of the cluster mass distribution (CMD) are fully reversible upon a change in stirring speed. This indicates that although the moments of CMD at steady-state depend on the applied shear rate, the aggregate structure is independent of the shear rate in the given range of stirring speeds. This was proved by independent measurement of the fractal dimension, d(f), using image analysis which provided a d(f) equal to 2.62 +/- 0.18 independent of applied stirring speed. The critical aggregate size, below which breakage is negligible, determined by dilution experiments was consequently used to evaluate the aggregate cohesive force holding the aggregate together, which was found to be independent of the aggregate size and equal to 6.2 +/- 1.0 nN.

Multiobjective optimization of simulated moving bed and Varicol processes using a genetic algorithm

The size of the packing material, the total number of columns and the total feed concentration have significant impacts on the economics of a preparative chromatographic separation, through their effects on column pressure drop, column efficiency and thermodynamics. In this work, the role of these parameters on the performances of a simulated moving bed and a Varicol process is investigated on a chiral separation system from literature, using an equilibrium stage model. A multiple objective optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm is adopted, which allows to maximize simultaneously the purity of the extract and productivity of the unit. In this way, it is possible to optimize and compare the performances of both processes in a wide range of parameter values, so as to assess their relative potential under equally optimized conditions. The optimization results, i.e. the so-called Pareto sets, have been discussed in the frame of equilibrium theory and the roles of these three parameters have been clarified.

Chromatographic separation of three monoclonal antibody variants using multicolumn countercurrent solvent gradient purification (MCSGP)

Multicolumn countercurrent solvent gradient purification (MCSGP) is a continuous chromatographic process developed in recent years (Aumann and Morbidelli, 2007a ; Aumann et al., 2007 ) that is particularly suited for applications in the field of bioseparations. Like batch chromatography, MCSGP is suitable for three‐fraction chromatographic separations and able to perform solvent gradients but it is superior in terms of solvent consumption, yield, purity, and productivity due to the countercurrent movement of the liquid and the solid phases. In this work, the MCSGP process is applied to the separation of three monoclonal antibody variants on a conventional preparative cation exchange resin. The experimental process performance was compared to simulations based on a lumped kinetic model. Yield and purity values of the target variant of 93%, respectively were obtained experimentally. The batch reference process was clearly outperformed by the MCSGP process. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;100: 1166–1177.

Experimental analysis of a chiral separation through simulated moving bed chromatography

Abstract An eight column HPLC-Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) laboratory unit for the separation of enantiomers has been built and operated. The separation of the enantiomers of the Troger’s base compound on triacetylcellulose has been considered as model separation. First the thermodynamics of adsorption has been characterised on a single analytical chromatographic column, then the separation has been scaled- up to the SMB laboratory unit. SMB experiments with different operating parameters, i.e., switch time and flow rates, have been run in order to analyse the separation performance of the laboratory unit. The experimental results are discussed in the light of the triangle theory for SMB operation.

Process for protein PEGylation

PEGylation is a versatile drug delivery technique that presents a particularly wide range of conjugation chemistry and polymer structure. The conjugated protein can be tuned to specifically meet the needs of the desired application. In the area of drug delivery this typically means to increase the persistency in the human body without affecting the activity profile of the original protein. On the other hand, because of the high costs associated with the production of therapeutic proteins, subsequent operations imposed by PEGylation must be optimized to minimize the costs inherent to the additional steps. The closest attention has to be given to the PEGylation reaction engineering and to the subsequent purification processes. This review article focuses on these two aspects and critically reviews the current state of the art with a clear focus on the development of industrial scale processes which can meet the market requirements in terms of quality and costs. The possibility of using continuous processes, with integration between the reaction and the separation steps is also illustrated.

Aggregation kinetics of polymer colloids in reaction limited regime : experiments and simulations

The kinetics of reaction-limited cluster aggregation of fluorinated polymer colloids in a broad range of particle volume fractions has been investigated experimentally by measuring independently the Fuchs stability ratio W and the time evolution of both the average radius of gyration and the average hydrodynamic radius of the aggregates mass distribution. The W value is determined from the aggregation rate at the very initial stage of the aggregation, where the presence of triplets is negligible. The time evolutions of and are then simulated using the cluster mass distribution calculated from the population balance equations with various aggregation kernels proposed in the literature. It is found that, when the measured W value is used, the only kernels that can correctly simulate the experimental results are the product kernel and the one derived by Odriozola et al. (Europhys. Lett. 53 (2001) 797), with some proper tuning of the exponent in the kernel. For the particle volume fraction phi<1%, the obtained value for the exponent is 0.4 and independent of phi, while it tends to decrease for larger phi values, most likely indicating a significant effect of multi-body interactions on the aggregation kinetics.