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. [1] 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. [2][3] 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. [4]
Feedstock
Origin and composition
Through the different chromatography forms and methods (as can be seen below), the possible biomass feedstocks are versatile. Examples are:[5]
- Wood chip
- Residual bacterial biomass
- Sewage sludge
- Straw
- Stalk
- Algae biomass
Pre-treatment
As a purification and analytical process, possible pre-processes are for example[5][6][7]:
- 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. [8] 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 methods
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.[8]
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 illustration 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)
Products
The products of a chromatography depend on which method is applied. When applying a gas chromatography the mobile phase is gaseous, while the stationary phase is solid or viscous liquid. The products here are then gases and the separated molecules are then either bound to the solid or liquid phase. When applying a liquid chromatography the mobile phase is liquid and the stationary phase is solid, leading to liquid and solid end products.
Post-treatment
Technology providers
| 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
| 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 Europe Pilot Plant
| General information | |||
| Company: | Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | 
| |
| Country: | Belgium | ||
| Contact: | chromatography@bbeu.org | ||
| Webpage: | https://www.bbeu.org/what-we-offer/technologies/product-recovery-and-purification/ | ||
| Technology and process details | |||
| Technology name: | Chromatography | Technology category: | Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies) |
| TRL: | 4-6 | Capacity: | -ion exchange in water treatment columns: lab scale up to 3000 L columns (and everything in between)
-Exclusion chromatography, bind & elute chromatography… in packed bed columns: 250 mL, 8 L, 10 L, 38 L, 60 L columns kg·h-1 |
| Mobile phase: | Process dependent! Mostly it is watery products but we can use solvents as well. | Pressure: | 5 bar |
| Processable volume: | 8l;38l; 80l; 900l L | Stationary phase: | Resins = Process dependent! |
| Temperature: | 50 °C °C | Other: | Preparative chromatography unit (GRACE) – BENCH scale, adsorption chromatography for ATEX environment, |
| Feedstock and product details | |||
| Feedstock: | chemical compounds of biological origin | Product: | separated hydrocarbons |
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
Patents
Currently no patents have been identified.
References
- ↑ Ozlem Coskun, 2016: Separation Tecniques: CHROMATOGRAPHY. Northern Clinics of Istanbul, Vol. , . doi: https://doi.org/10.14744/nci.2016.32757
- ↑ Mirna González-González, Karla Mayolo-Deloisa, Marco Rito-Palomares, 2020: Chapter 5 - Recent advances in antibody-based monolith chromatography for therapeutic application. Elsevier, Vol. , (Approaches to the Purification, Analysis and Characterization of Antibody-Based Therapeutics), 105–116. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-103019-6.00005-9
- ↑ Todd M Przybycien, Narahari S Pujar, Landon M Steele, 2004-10-01: Alternative bioseparation operations: life beyond packed-bed chromatography. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Vol. 15, (5), 469–478. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2004.08.008
- ↑ K. Hostettmann, 1998: Preparative Chromatography Techniques : Applications in Natural Product Isolation. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg.
- ↑ a b Jun Sheng Teh, Yew Heng Teoh, Heoy Geok How, Farooq Sher, 2021-09-08: Thermal Analysis Technologies for Biomass Feedstocks: A State-of-the-Art Review. Processes, Vol. 9, (9), 1610. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9091610
- ↑ M. Tian, K. H. Row, 2013-09-01: Separation of Glucose and Bioethanol in Biomass with Current Methods and Sorbents. Journal of Chromatographic Science, Vol. 51, (8), 819–824. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/chromsci/bmt044
- ↑ Benjamin R. Caes, Thomas R. Van Oosbree, Fachuang Lu, John Ralph, Christos T. Maravelias, Ronald T. Raines, 2013-11: Simulated Moving Bed Chromatography: Separation and Recovery of Sugars and Ionic Liquid from Biomass Hydrolysates. ChemSusChem, Vol. 6, (11), 2083–2089. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201300267
- ↑ a b Thermo Fischer, : What is Chromatography and How Does it Work? , Last access 14.02.2022. https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/what-is-chromatography/