Efficient optimization of multi-components separating process

With the rapid increase of the market demands, Pharmaceutical products, fine chemicals and food, particularly food function factors, are subject to more and more complex standards and stricter restrictions, thus efficient methods for the separation of those sensitive products are needed. Chromatographic processes provide an effective method for the separation of multicomponent mixtures in which the components have different adsorption affinities. As an alternative to conventional discontinuous batch chromatography process, the simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatographic separation process is a continuous process and has gained more and more application in many fields recently. However, optimization of SMB processes is still a challenging task. SMB processes exhibit strong nonlinear behavior and they are of periodic nature. In this paper, the dynamic optimization problem arising from SMB processes is presented, and the optimization results have been discussed and the roles of these parameters have been clarified. © 2009 IEEE.