Multicomponent Radial Flow Chromatography

Abstract

Radial flow chromatography (RFC) was introduced into the commercial market in the mid-1980s [100] as an alternative to the conventional axial flow chromatography (AFC) for preparative- and large-scale applications. Compared to AFC, the RFC geometry (Fig. 10.1) provides a relatively large flow area and a short flow path. It allows a higher volumetric flow rate with a lower bed pressure compared to longer AFC columns. If soft gels or affinity matrix materials are used as separation media, the low pressure drop of RFC helps prevent bed compression [21, 101]. RFC columns, both prepacked and unpacked, with a range of size from 50 milliliters to 200 liters in bed volume are commercially available. An experimental case study of the comparison of RFC and AFC was carried out by Saxena and Weil [102] for the separation of ascites using QAE cellulose packings. They reported that by using a higher flow rate, the separation time for RFC was a quarter of that needed for a longer AFC column with the same bed volume. It was claimed that by using RFC instead of AFC, separation productivity can be improved quite significantly [100].