Modeling of elution curves in preparative chromatography using anion-exchange resin for cobalt purification

There have been many studies on the modeling of elution and breakthrough curves of ion-exchange chromatography. A precise representation of elution curves using an appropriate mathematical model is significant for the application and expansion of ion-exchange chromatography. The significance of precise modeling particularly increases when the yield and purity of the product are important. However, no previous studies have proposed a model that can perfectly represent experimental elution curves. We investigated the purification of various metals by anion-exchange separation and determined an optimum condition for purification of an element through trial and error. An appropriate model replicating the elution curves accurately is greatly needed to reduce the testing phase. Consequently, this paper proposes a novel model called the plate theory in multi-path mode, in which three virtual paths are assumed. The results show that this model well represents the experimental elution curves. In addition, the model was validated by comparing the distribution coefficients obtained from the fitting results with those determined by previously reported batch experiments.