Multicomponent separations using a continuous annular chromatograph

Multicomponent liquid chromatographic separations have been achieved by using a slowly rotating annular bed of sorbent material. By continuously introducing the feed material to be separated at a stationary point at the top of the bed and eluent everywhere else around the annulus, elution chromatography occurs. The rotation rate of the sorbent bed causes the separated components to appear as helical bands, each of which has a characteristic, stationary exit point; hence, the separation process is truly continuous.

The continuous separation of copper, nickel, and cobalt from an ammoniacal leach liquor has been used to evaluate the behavior and capabilities of a variety of continuous annular chromatographs (CACs). The experimental units ranged in diameter from 89 to 445 mm and in annulus width from 6 to 51 mm. The effects of feed rate, feed concentration, rotation rate, eluent and eluent velocity, and column size were experimentally determined and modeled to show how they affect the performance of a CAC system.

Use of the described models should allow confident design of new CAC units for performing continuous separations on a preparative scale. With its capability for continuously separating many components using one or a number of eluents, the CAC should make chromatography a competitive process in many industrial applications.