Nearly every chemical manufacturing operation requires the use of separation processes to recover and purify the desired product. Liquid‐phase adsorption has long been used for the removal of contaminants present at low concentrations in process streams such as in deodorization of water, decolorization of sugar, and ion exchange of fermentation broth. Liquid‐phase simulated moving bed (SMB) processes are being increasingly used for bulk separation of a whole range of molecules whose molecular properties are very similar. Examples are
p
‐xylene from C
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aromatics, normal paraffins from iso‐paraffins, fructose from glucose, and chiral molecules in the pharmaceutical industry. When it comes to the separation of close boiling molecules, SMB processes generally provide a better alternative to other conventional means of separation from both operating and capital costs point of view.
This article reviews the application of liquid‐phase adsorption processes in the hydrocarbon, industrial chemicals, food, and pharmaceutical industry. Special emphasis is given to the class of processes referred to as SMB processes including fundamental SMB principles , and the general applicability and guidelines for SMB design. The paper also illustrates several examples of SMB applications in the petrochemical industry and its recent growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.