Design of frontal chromatography separation of 1-phenylethanol and acetophenone using a hydrophobic resin

Abstract

Adsorption and chromatographic processes havegood potential in the purification of natural aromas produced via biocatalytic routes. This work deals with the recovery of 1-phenylethanol (PE) from mixtures containing different amounts of acetophenone (AP). Amberlite FPX68, an industrial adsorbent with high selectivity with respect to acetophenone, was chosen for the separation of PE and AP by frontal chromatography. Small-scale experiments were performed for two different feed compositions and various flow rates and bed lengths. Using the target purity of 99 %, promising yields close to 90 % were obtained. The breakthrough curves were fitted with the equilibrium dispersive model, which provided HETP values under the different conditions. The obtained dependences of HETP on flow velocity complied with the Van Deemter equation. The contributions of individual phenomena responsible for adsorption zone broadening were analyzed. The experimental and modelling results obtained for the small-scale column became the basis for the scale-up of frontal chromatography separation of PE with an annual capacity up to 500 kg.