A MILP-method for optimizing a preparative simulated moving bed chromatographic separation process

In the present paper a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for a chromatographic separation process is described. What in this case makes the paper especially interesting, is the fact that hardly any mathematical programming method has been described for this kind of separation system, although many formulations have been described for other kinds of separation systems, e.g. distillation. The objective is to formulate the process in a linear form and to optimize the production.