Chromatography

Technology
Technology details
Name:	Chromatography
Category:	Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies)
Feedstock:	all materials
Product:	separated products

Chromatography enables the separation, identification, and purification of the components in a mixture. The mixture is composed of a mobile phase (fluid or gas) and a stationary phase. The stationary phase is either a solid phase or a layer of a liquid adsorbed on the surface a solid support. The separation is based on the differential partitioning between the mobile and the stationary phase. Chromatography may be preparative or analytical. The purpose of preparative chromatography is to separate the components of a mixture for later use, and is thus a form of purification. Analytical chromatography is done normally with smaller amounts of material and is for establishing the presence or measuring the relative proportions of analytes in a mixture. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Feedstock

Origin and composition

Through the different chromatography forms and methods (as can be seen below), the possible biomass feedstocks are versatile. Examples are:

• Raw wood/wood char
• Residual bacterial biomass
• Sewage sludge
• Straw
• Corn stalk/stover
• Wool

Pre-treatment

As a purification and analytical process, possible pre-processes are for example:

• Hydrolysis
• Distillation
• Ammonia fibre expansion
• Polymerisation
• Centrifugation
• Pyrolysis
• Gasification
• Torrefaction
• Hydrothermal processing
• Fermentation

Process and technologies

To separate the components of a mixture, the mixture is dissolved in a substance, the mobile phase, which carries it through a second substance, the stationary phase. The different components of the mixture travel through the stationary phase at different speeds, causing them to separate from one another. The different molecules stay longer or shorter on the stationary phase, depending on their interactions with its surface sites. The separation is based on the differential partitioning between the mobile and the stationary phases. Subtle differences in a compound's partition coefficient result in differential retention on the stationary phase and thus affect the separation. A schematic illustration of the process can be seen below (illustrates column chromatography).

Chromatography forms and methods

Liquid chromatography

By altering the mobile phase, the stationary phase, and/or the factor determining speed of travel, a wide variety of chromatographic methods are available, each ideal for different mixtures. Some of the most common forms of chromatography are as follows.

Techniques by physical state of the mobile phase

• Gas chromatography
  • the mobile phase is gaseous
• Liquid chromatography
  • the mobile phase is liquid

Techniques by chromatographic bed shape

• Thin-layer chromatography (TLC)
  • stationary phase is a thin layer of solid material, usually silica-based, and the mobile phase is a liquid
• Column chromatography
  • stationary phase is within a tube (e.g. packed column with silica, as the example above)

Techniques by separation mechanism

• Ion exchange chromatography
  • separates the components of a mixture based on their charge
• Size-exclusion chromatography
  • separates molecules according to their size (Smaller molecules enter pores of the media and, therefore, molecules are trapped and removed from the flow of the mobile phase)

Technology providers

Technology comparison

Company name	Country	Technology category	Technology name	TRL	Capacity [kg/h]	Processable volume [L]	Feedstock: Food waste	Feedstock: Garden & park waste
Company 1	[Country HQ location]	[Technology category (if different sub-categories are defined this has to be specified here, the available categories can be found on each technology page under the chapter Process and technologies)]	[Technology name (the "branded name" or the usual naming from company side)]	[4-9]	[numeric value]		●	●
Company 2	[Country HQ location]	[(if different sub-categories are defined this has to be specified here, the available categories can be found on each technology page under the chapter Process and technologies)]	[Technology name (the "branded name" or the usual naming from company side)]	[4-9]	[numeric value]		●	●

ABC

Chromatography provider

General information
Company:
Country:
Contact:
Webpage:
Technology and process details
Technology name:		Technology category:	Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies)
TRL:		Capacity:	kg·h-1
Mobile phase:		Pressure:	bar
Processable volume:	L	Stationary phase:
Temperature:	°C	Other:
Feedstock and product details
Feedstock:		Product:

describe the company, here is an example

ABC was founded in 20... 12 by KNN and Syncom, in collaboration with the university of Groningen, Netherlands. The company is a technology provider developing chemical recycling technologies for different feedstocks including non-food bio- and plastics waste. In 2018 a pilot plant with the capability to process biomass and plastic waste was set up at the Zernike Advanced Processing (ZAP) Facility. The company is now focused on setting up their first commercial plant with a capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes. The investing phase B was recently completed, with the last investment phase in 2019 the financial requirements are fulfilled to complete the commercialisation activities to build the plant which is expected for 2023.

describe their technology, here is an example

The technology is based on an Integrated Cascading Catalytic Pyrolysis (ICCP) process, being able to produce aromatics including benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) as well as light olefins from low grade biomass and plastics waste. This technology utilises catalytic cracking in a two-step process at temperatures between 450- 850 °C. In the first step the feedstock material is vaporised via thermal cracking. The pyrolysis vapours are then directly passed into a second reactor in which they are converted into aromatics by utilising a zeolite catalyst which can be continuously regenerated. Finally, the products are separated from the gas via condensation. An ex situ approach of catalytic conversion has several advantages such as the protection of the catalyst from deactivation/degradation expanding its lifetime, a greater variety of feedstock, and a precise adjustment of process conditions (e.g. temperature, catalyst design, and Weight Hourly Space Velocity (WHSV) in each step for improved yields. In current pilot plant with 10 kg h-1 feed capacity for either waste plastics or biomass, final design details are established, which will be include in the running engineering activities for the commercial plant.

Bio Base

Bio Base provides scale up of chromatography processes from lab-scale up to 4000 L scale. There is mainly a very broad knowledge of anion exchange, cation exchange and activated carbon processes, since (economically) those are most realistic to scale-up.

Open access pilot and demo facility providers

Pilots4U Database

Patents

Currently no patents have been identified.

References

• Chromatography