Enantioseparation of 1-phenyl-1-propanol by supercritical fluid-simulated moving bed chromatography

The enantioseparation of 1-phenyl-1-propanol through the supercritical fluid-simulated moving bed (SF-SMB) process is studied. Non-linear isotherms were measured on an analytical column, and used together with the triangle theory for SMB design to select operating conditions for the SF-SMB. Experiments were carried out on a pilot-scale SF-SMB plant at conditions that corresponded to the non-linear range of the isotherm. Under conditions of low feed concentration, complete separation (extract purity = 99.5%; raffinate purity = 98.4%) was achieved. Under conditions of larger feed concentration, the best separation corresponded to an extract purity of 98.0% and a raffinate purity of 94.0%, and yielded a productivity of 110 g of racemate per kg stationary phase per day.