Development of a Scalable and Sustainable High Performance CounterCurrent Chromatography (HPCCC) Purification for Spinosyn A and Spinosyn D from Spinosad

A high performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC)1 process was developed as a more efficient and sustainable alternative to reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the pilot scale purification of the naturally occurring fermentation-derived insecticides, spinosyn A and spinosyn D, the major components of spinosad insecticide. While on pilot scale HPCCC and RP-HPLC both gave >99% purities and comparable combined recoveries of 77% and 83%, respectively, HPCCC was more efficient and sustainable by producing a 60% higher productivity, 11 times higher solute loading, 96% savings in stationary phase costs, and 42% reduction in solvent usage. The increase in productivity and reduction in solvent usage further reduced waste recycle and disposal costs, thus presenting significantly less environmental impact compared to RP-HPLC separations. Use of mixing on demand for solvent system at a preparative scale allowed a complete automation with minimized solvent consumption.