Effect of process parameters on the performance of a Simulated Moving Bed chromatographic reactor

The combination of a chemical reaction and a chromatographic separation process in a single unit-operation may improve the course of reaction as well as the separation efficiency. Higher conversion and better yields can be achieved by separating educts and products of an equilibrium reaction from each other. In this work the effect of the process parameters on the performance of a chromatographic SMB reactor for a reversible decomposition reaction of type A <-> B + C has been examined. The considered parameters (adsorption coefficient of the educt, separation factor of the products and reaction kinetics) have been changed in a wide range with all the other parameters fixed. A lower limit of the product purity has been set and the process has been designed to meet the given product specifications. Afterwards the performance of the processes has been compared based on the maximum feed flow rate that can be used without falling short of the desired product purity. A second criterion that has been used is the specific desorbent demand. The results of these examinations allow to estimate in which case the use of chromatographic SMB reactors seems promising. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.