Cell culture titres are expected to increase in the next years. This imposes challenges in downstream processing associated mainly with the use of larger volumes of chromatography resins. A major source of this bottleneck derives from the compressible nature of most commercially available resins, which makes the operation of columns with diameters beyond 2 m unfeasible due to resin collapse. The use of cylindrical inserts of negligible thickness has been proposed in the literature as a way to allow higher linear velocities to be applied and larger diameter columns to be used. In this study, a structural mechanics model has been developed to evaluate the effect of inserts on column's pressure and flow conditions. The model was validated against experimental data and used to provide the optimal insert dimensions, in order to allow higher throughput to be achieved without affecting the hydrodynamic efficiency of the column.

Evaluation of a structural mechanics model to predict the effect of inserts in the bed support of chromatographic columns

245th National Meeting (2013)

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