Fluidized bed adsorption of cephalosporin C

Fluidized bed adsorption can substantially simplify the recovery of products from fermentation. There are, however, several critical parameters, which have a significant influence on the performance of such systems. This paper presents experimental results on the adsorption of an antibiotic, Cephalosporin C, on macroporous adsorbents of the polystyrene type and on an ion exchanger. Internals (static mixers) were used to control bed expansion and mixing, the range of flow rates could thus be extended significantly. An integrated mathematical model was developed comprising bed expansion, residence time distribution and mixing, adsorption kinetics and equilibria.