KNAUER´s Simulated moving bed (SMB)

Simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography is a multi-column process technique that separates substance mixtures continuously into two fractions. Because the stationary phase is used far more efficiently than in batch chromatography, productivity and purity rise while solvent and adsorbent costs fall. KNAUER reports savings of up to 90 % of solvent and up to 80 % of solid phase cost compared with comparable batch systems, with product recovered nearly undiluted so downstream concentration effort is minimised. SMB is applied in the pharmaceutical industry, fine chemicals production and bioengineering, and is typically used for two-component mixtures such as chiral separations. Although each pass is limited to two fractions, repeating the process separates further fractions down to binary mixtures.

Available systems:

• AZURA SMB Lab - optimised for multicolumn separation of binary mixtures of small molecules at gram scale

• AZURA SMB Pilot - for extracting high-purity pharmaceutical active ingredients from natural products at high yield

Key benefits:

• Higher productivity than comparable batch chromatography systems

• Increased purity and yield from the same feed

• Solvent consumption reduced by up to 90 %

• Solid phase costs reduced by up to 80 %

• Product obtained nearly undiluted, minimising concentration steps

• Lower operating costs on a smaller system footprint

• Continuous operation rather than repeated batch injections