WO2024191548A1

WO2024191548A1 - Pressure relief valve support system and method for a chromatography column

Info

Publication number: WO2024191548A1
Application number: PCT/US2024/016074
Authority: WO
Inventors: Avery WITTING; Harold BLADES
Original assignee: Amgen Inc.
Priority date: 2023-03-16
Filing date: 2024-02-16
Publication date: 2024-09-19

Abstract

A pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column includes a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp. The system also includes an exhaust tube configured to be coupled to a portion of a pressure relief valve and used to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column.

Description

PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A CHROMATOGRAPHY COLUMN

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/490,738, filed March 16, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to a chromatography column, more particularly, to a pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Chromatography columns for process development or biopharmaceutical manufacture are known, such as in the pharmaceutical industry. In some chromatography columns, such as non-metallic chromatography columns, it is desired to install pressure relief valves or attach another large component or accessory to the chromatography column, such as on and/or near a top outlet of the column for assured mitigation control, for example. However, attaching the pressure relief valve or other large component to the chromatography column results in a significant strain to at least a central inlet tube and/or other components of the column, significantly interfering with and/or destroying the operation of the column.

SUMMARY

[0004] In accordance with a first aspect, a pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column comprises a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp. The system also includes an exhaust tube configured to be coupled to a portion of a pressure relief valve and used to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column.

[0005] In accordance with another aspect, a pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column comprises a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp. The system also includes a reducer spool configured to be attached to the central tube; and a cross-piece configured to be coupled to the reducer spool at one end and configured to be coupled to a pressure relief valve at another end.

[0006] In accordance with yet another aspect, a method of supporting a pressure relief valve configured to be coupled to a chromatography column comprises attaching a first portion of a support bar to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot, and attaching a second portion of the support bar to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp. The method also comprises coupling a first end of a cross-piece to the central tube and a second end of the cross-piece to a portion of a pressure relief valve. The method further includes coupling an exhaust tube to another portion of a pressure relief valve to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] It is believed that the disclosure will be more fully understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Some of the drawings may have been simplified by the omission of selected elements for the purpose of more clearly showing other elements. Such omissions of elements in some drawings are not necessarily indicative of the presence or absence of particular elements in any of the example embodiments, except as may be explicitly delineated in the corresponding written description. Also, none of the drawings is necessarily to scale. [0008] FIG. 1 is a front view of a pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column according to the present disclosure;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a close-up view of a portion of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another portion of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a top view of a clamp of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a top view of another clamp of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a front view of a support bar of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 7 is a front view of an exhaust tube of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 8 is a front view of a cross-piece of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0016] FIG. 9 is a side view of the cross-piece of FIG. 7;

[0017] FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the cross-piece of FIG. 7;

[0018] FIG. 11 is front view of a reducer spool of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the reducer spool of FIG. 10 taken along the line A-A of FIG. 10;

[0020] FIG. 13 is a front view of another exemplary pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column according to another aspect of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 14 is a close-up view of a portion of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 13;

[0022] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another portion of the pressure relief valve support system of FIG. 13; and

[0023] FIG. 16 is a perspective view the pressure relief valve support system of FIG.1 used with a different chromatography column.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Generally, a pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column is disclosed. The pressure relief valve support system includes a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp. The system also includes a reducer spool configured to be attached to the central tube, and a cross-piece coupled to the reducer spool at one end and configured to be coupled to a pressure relief valve at another end. Further, the system also includes an exhaust tube configured to be coupled to another portion of the pressure relief valve and used to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column, as explained more below.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 1, a pressure relief valve support system 10 for a chromatography column 12 is depicted. The chromatography column 12 includes a glass column tube 14 having a top plate 15 disposed thereon. The glass column tube 14 is disposed on a stand 16, which may include wheels 18, such as three wheels in this example. Each wheel 18 includes a lock. The chromatography column 12 also includes a central tube 20 that is disposed through an aperture in the top plate 15 and down into an interior of the glass column tube 14, as depicted in FIG. 1.

[0026] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the pressure relief valve support system 10 includes a support bar 24 having a first portion 26 and a second portion 28. The first portion 26 is configured to be attached to the top plate 15 of the chromatography column 12 by clamp 30, such as a first clamp 30 in one example and as explained more below. The second portion 28 of the support bar 24 is configured to be attached to the central tube 20 of the chromatography column 12 via another clamp, such as a second clamp 32 in this example. In addition, the system 10 also includes a reducer spool 34 configured to be attached to the central tube 20, and a crosspiece 36. The cross-piece 36 is coupled to the reducer spool 34 at one end and configured to be coupled to a pressure relief valve 38 at another end, as depicted in both Figs. 2 and 3 and explained more below. The system 10 further includes an exhaust tube 40 configured to be coupled to another portion of the pressure relief valve 38 and used to support the pressure relief valve 38 and the chromatography column 12. The exhaust tub 40 includes a central portion 42 that is configured to be coupled to the top plate 15 of the chromatography column 12 by another clamp 44, such as a third clamp 44.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 4, the clamp 30 configured to attach the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 to the top plate 15 is depicted, which may also be the first clamp 30. In the system 10 of FIGS. 1-3, for example, the clamp 30 may be the same as the clamp 44, such as the third clamp 44, that is configured to couple the central portion 42 of the exhaust tube 40 to the top plate 15. In this example, the clamp 30, 44, such as the first clamp 30 and the third clamp 44, includes a Behringer clamp 46 having a clamp portion 48 with an aperture 50, a stem 52 extending from the clamp portion 46, and a body 54 extending from the stem 52. The body 54 includes a slot 56 disposed along an longitudinal axis A of the body 54. The slot 56 is integral with the Behringer clamp 46 and enables the support bar 24 to move along both an x-axis X and a y-axis Y of the top plate 15 for a flexible connection, as depicted in FIG. 3.

[0028] More specifically, and as depicted in FIG. 3, for example, the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 is disposed into the aperture 50 of the clamp portion 48 of the Behringer clamp 46, and the slot 56 is placed over a bolt 57 extending upwardly from the top plate 15. A fastener 58 is or may be then placed onto the bolt 57 to secure the slot 56 and ultimately the clamp 30, 44 to the bolt 57 and the top plate 15. As best depicted in FIG. 2, each of the first clamp 30 and the third clamp 44 is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the central tube 20, for example. In addition, the first clamp 30 may be disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the support bar 24, and the third clamp 44 may be disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the exhaust tube 40. Alternatively, it will be appreciated that each of the first clamp 30 and the third clamp 44 may alternatively be disposed at an angle relative to one or more of the longitudinal axis of the central tube 20, the support bar 24 or the exhaust tube 40 and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 5, the clamp 32 configured to couple the second portion 28 of the support bar 24 of FIGS. 1-3 is depicted. The clamp 32 may be the second clamp 32 of the system 10, as noted above. Like the first and third clamps 30, 44, the second clamp 32 includes at least one Behringer clamp 60 and is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the support bar 24 and/or the central tube 20 (see, e.g., FIG. 2). In addition, in this example, the second clamp 32 includes a pair of Behringer clamps 60, including a first Behringer clamp 61 and a second Behringer clamp 62 that is coupled to the first Behringer clamp 61, as explained more below. In this example, the first Behringer clamp 61 is configured to be attached to the support bar 24 and the second Behringer clamp 62 is configured to be attached to the central tube 20.

[0030] Further, and like the first and third clamps 30, 44, each of the first and second Behringer clamps 61, 62 of the second clamp 32 includes a clamp portion 63a, 63b with an aperture 64a, 64b, and a stem 65a, 65b extending from the clamp portion 63a, 63b, respectively. As depicted in FIG. 4, the stem 65a of the first Behringer clamp 61 of the second clamp 32 is coupled to the stem 65b of the second Behringer clamp 62 to couple the first and second Behringer clamps 61, 62 of the second clamp assembly 32 together. It will be understood the second portion 28 of the support bar 24 is disposed into the aperture 64a of the first Behringer clamp 61, and a portion of the central tube 20 of the chromatography column 12 is disposed into the aperture 64b of the clamp portion 63b when the second clamp 32 is secured to the support bar 24 and the central tube 20. [0031] Referring now to FIG. 6, a front view of the support bar 24 of the system 10 is depicted. As noted, the support bar 24 includes the first portion 26 and the second portion 28. In addition, the support bar 24 may further include an inwardly disposed portion 68 disposed between the first portion 26 and the second portion 28 to accommodate various sizes and components of the chromatography column 12 to which the system 10 is coupled, for example. More specifically, the inwardly disposed portion 68 allows the second portion 28 of the support bar 24 to be disposed a distance closer to the central tube 20 than the first portion 26, for example. As a result, the second portion 28 of the support bar 24 may be more easily secured to the central tube 20, for example, via the second clamp 32. Further, the support bar 24 is hollow.

[0032] Referring now to FIG. 7, a front view of the exhaust tube 40 of the system 10 is depicted. The exhaust tube 40 includes a first portion 70 removably coupled to the pressure relief valve 38 and a second portion 72 disposed at an end of the exhaust tube 40 opposite from the first portion 70. As air and/or fluid pressure is relieved by the pressure relief valve 38 during operation of the chromatography column 12, the air and/or fluid pressure, for example, relieved is directed into the first portion 70 of the exhaust tube 40 and downward through the exhaust tube 40 to the second portion 72 and through an outlet 73 at the second portion 72, for example. In this example, the exhaust tube 40 also includes a portion 74 disposed between the first and second portions 70, 72 and in an outwardly and downwardly direction from the first portion 70 to the second portion 72 of the exhaust tube 40. This configuration allows the air and/or fluid pressure to more easily be drained into the exhaust tube and routed downward into the second portion 72 and through the outlet 73.

[0033] Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, the cross-piece 36 of the system 10 is depicted. The cross-piece 36 includes a first cross-piece portion 76 disposed in a vertical position and includes a first end 76a and a second end 76b. The first end 76a is coupled to the reducer spool 34 (see, e.g., FIG. 2) in this example. In another example, the first end 76a may be directly coupled to the central tube 20, e.g., if the reducer spool 34 is not used in the system 10, and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the second end 76b may be coupled to a valve (see, e.g., FIGS. 2 and 3) or another component that may be used and/or incorporated into the system 10 and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The cross-piece 36 also includes a second cross-piece portion 78 that is disposed in a horizontal position and perpendicular to the first cross-piece portion 76. Like the first cross-piece portion 76, the second cross-piece portion 78 includes a first end 78a and a second end 78b disposed opposite to the first end 78a. The second end 78b is configured to be coupled and/or coupled to the pressure relief valve 36 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2 and 3), and the first end 78a is configured to be coupled to or coupled to another valve 79 (FIGS. 2 and 3) or other component that may be used and/or incorporated into the system 10 and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Each of the first and second cross-piece portions 76, 78 includes a bore disposed between the first and second ends 76a, 78a, 76b, 78b, respectively, for receiving fluid, air and/or any other media configured to be disposed in the chromatography column 12, for example.

[0034] Referring now to FIG. 9, a side view of the cross-piece 36 is depicted, with another view of the second end 78b of the second cross-piece 78. In this view, an outlet 80 of the second end 78b of the second cross-piece 78 is depicted, and the outlet 80 is configured to be attached to the pressure relief valve 36. So configured, excess pressure and/or fluid is or may be released through this outlet 80, into the pressure relief valve 36, and ultimately out of the chromatography column 12 and into the environment through the exhaust tube 40. Referring now to FIG. 10, a bottom view of the cross-piece 36 is depicted, with another view of the first end 76a of the first cross-piece 76. In this view, an outlet 82 of the first end 76a of the first cross-piece 76 is depicted, and the outlet 82 is configured to be attached to the reducer spool 34. Alternatively, and in another example, the outlet 82 of the first end 76a of the first cross-piece 76 is configured to be and/or attached directly to the central tube 20 instead of the reducer spool 34 and still fall within the scope of another example of the present disclosure. [0035] Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, the reducer spool 34 of the system 10 of FIGS. 2-3, for example, is depicted. The reducer spool 34 includes a body 84 having a first end 84a and a second end 84b disposed opposite to the first end 84a. The second end 84b is configured to be coupled to and/or is coupled to the central tube 20 (see, e.g., FIG. 3), and the first end 84a is configured to be coupled to and/or is coupled to the first end 76a of the first cross-piece portion 76 of the cross-piece 36 (see, e.g., FIGS. 8-10). The reducer spool 34 further includes a bore 86 disposed between the first end 84a and the second end 84b such that the bore 86 decreases in volume from the first end 84a to the second end 84b, as depicted in FIG. 12. In addition, a diameter D1 of the first end 84a is greater than a diameter D2 of the second end 84b, creating the decreasing volume of the bore 86 of the reducer spool 34, for example.

[0036] Referring now to FIGS. 13-15, another a pressure relief valve support system 100 for another chromatography column 112 according to the present disclosure is depicted. Like the chromatography column 12 of FIGS. 1-3, the chromatography column 112 includes a glass column tube 114 having a top plate 115 disposed thereon, and the top plate 115 includes some features different from the top plate 15 of the chromatography column 12, as depicted in FIG. 13. In addition, the glass column tube 114 is disposed on a stand 116, which may include wheels 118, such as three wheels in this example. Each wheel 118 also includes a lock. The chromatography column 112 also includes a central tube 120 that is disposed through an aperture in the top plate 115 and down into an interior of the glass column tube 114, as depicted in FIG. 13, for example.

[0037] As depicted in FIGS. 14 and 15, the pressure relief valve support system 100 includes many of the same features of the pressure relief valve support system 10 of FIGS. 1-3, for example. As a result, parts of the pressure relief valve support system 100 that are the same as the pressure relief valve support system 10 include the same reference numbers and are not explained here again for the sake of brevity. Unlike the pressure valve support system 10, the pressure valve support system 100 includes a long bar clamp 131, which is also a first clamp 131 of the system 100 in some examples. The long bar clamp 131 is configured to couple the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 to a portion of the top plate 115. In one example, the long bar clamp 131 is a long bar Behringer clamp 131 including a clamp portion 133 with an aperture 135, a long bar 137 extending from the clamp portion 133 and a body 138 extending from the long bar 137, the body 138 including a slot 139, as depicted in FIG. 15.

[0038] In addition, the pressure valve support system 100 also includes another long bar clamp 145, which is also a third clamp 145 in some examples. The long bar clamp 145 is configured to couple the exhaust tube 40 to another portion of the top plate 115, as also depicted in FIG. 15. Like the long bar clamp 131, the long bar clamp 145 is a long bar Behringer clamp 145 including a clamp portion 146 with an aperture 147, a long bar 148 extending from the clamp portion 146 and a body 149 extending from the long bar 137, the body 149 including a slot 150, as again depicted in FIG. 15. In one example, the long bar clamp 145 is the same as the long bar clamp 131.

[0039] The slots 139, 150 of each long bar clamp 131, 145 are integral with the long bar clamps 131, 145 and enable the support bar 24 and the exhaust tube 40 to move along both an x-axis X and a y-axis Y of the top plate 115 for a flexible connection. More specifically, and as depicted in FIG. 15, for example, the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 is disposed into the aperture 135 of the clamp portion 133 of the long bar Behringer clamp 131, and the slot 139 is placed over an aperture of the top plate 115. A fastener (not shown) may be then placed onto the slot 139 and the aperture of the top plate 115 to secure the slot 139 and ultimately the clamp 131, 44 to the top plate 115. As best depicted in FIG. 14, each of the first clamp 131 and the third clamp 145 is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the central tube 20, for example. In addition, the first clamp 131 may be disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the support bar 24, and the third clamp 145 may be disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to a longitudinal axis of the exhaust tube 40. Alternatively, it will be appreciated that each of the first clamp 131 and the third clamp 145 may be disposed at an angle relative to one or more of the longitudinal axis of the central tube 20, the support bar 24 or the exhaust tube 40 and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] Referring now to FIG. 16, the pressure relief valve support system 10 of FIGS. 1-3, for example, is depicted with a different chromatography column 212. The chromatography column 212 is larger than the chromatography column 12 of FIGS. 1-3, but still includes a top plate 215 and other features. The pressure relief valve support system 10, 100 can be used with various other sized chromatography columns, such as 20 cm, 30 cm, and 45 cm sized columns and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0041] It will be appreciated that the pressure relief valve support system 10, 100 described above may comprise the support bar 24 having the first portion 26 configured to be attached to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 by the first clamp 30, 131 and the second portion 28 configured to be attached to the central tube 20, 120 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 along with the exhaust tube 40. The exhaust tube 40 is configured to be coupled to a portion of the pressure relief valve 38 at one end and a portion of the top plate 15, 115 at another end, as explained above, and thus used to support both the pressure relief valve 38 and the chromatography column 12, 112, 212. In another example, the pressure relief valve support system 10, 100 described above may comprise the support bar 24 having the first portion 26 configured to be attached to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 by the first clamp 30, 131 and the second portion 28 configured to be attached to the central tube 20, 120 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 along with the reducer spool 34 configured to be attached to the central tube 20 and the cross-piece 36. In this example, the cross-piece 36 is configured to be coupled to the reducer spool 34 at one end and configured to be coupled to the pressure relief valve 38 at the other end.

[0042] In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that any one or more the foregoing systems 10, 100 may support the pressure relief valve 38 configured to be coupled to a chromatography column 12, 112, 21 according to one or more of the following methods. Specifically, the method of supporting the pressure relief valve 38 configured to be coupled to the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 comprises attaching the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 by the first clamp 30, 131 having the slot 56, 139. The method also comprises attaching the second portion 28 of the support bar 26 to the central tube 20 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 via the second clamp 44, 145 and coupling the first end 76a of the cross-piece 36 to the central tube 20 and the 78b second end of the crosspiece 36 to a portion of the pressure relief valve 38. The method further includes coupling the exhaust tube 40 to another portion of the pressure relief valve 38 to support the pressure relief valve 38 and the chromatography column 12, 112, 212.

[0043] In one example, the method may further include, after attaching the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 by the first clamp 30, 131 and attaching the second portion 28 of the support bar 26 to the central tube 20 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 via the second clamp 44, 145, attaching the reducer spool 34 to the central tube 20. The method may then further comprise coupling the first end 76a of the cross-piece 36 to the reducer spool 34. In another example, the method may also include coupling another portion 42 of the exhaust tube 40 to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 via the third clamp 44, 145 having the slot 56, 150.

[0044] Further, in yet another example, attaching the first portion 26 of the support bar 24 to the top plate 15, 115 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 by the first clamp 30, 131 may include moving the support bar 24 along one or more both of an x-axis and a y-axis of the top plate 15, 115 via the slot 56, 139 of the first clamp 30, 131 that is integral with the first clamp 30, 131. In addition, attaching the second portion 28 of the support bar 26 to the central tube 20 of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 via the second clamp 44, 145 may comprise disposing the second clamp 44, 145 at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the support bar 24 and/or the central tube 20. [0045] It will be appreciated that the systems and methods of the present disclosure include several advantages. For example, the system 10, 100 and methods safely support a pressure relief valve (or any large attachment) while reducing strain on the central tube 20 that otherwise would not be possible with conventional systems. In addition, the new system 10, 100 and methods use the existing chromatography column 12, 112, 212 as a natural support structure for mounting and rigidity. Further, the new system 10, 100 is compact and does not interfere with operational capability of the chromatography column 12, 112, 212 while achieving the same process outcome. Still further, the new system 10, 100 and methods can accommodate attachments to the chromatography column 12, 112, 212, such as the top of the column 12, 112, 212, that otherwise would not be possible without the new support system 10, 100 and related methods described above. Moreover, the new support system 10, 100 and methods are adaptable to any size chromatography column, such as the 20cm, 30cm, and 45cm chromatography columns.

[0046] Although the foregoing systems and methods, and elements thereof, have been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, they are not limited thereto. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment of the invention because describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent that would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention.

[0047] It should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The appended claims should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of same, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the devices, systems, methods, and their elements.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column comprising: a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp; and an exhaust tube configured to be coupled to a portion of a pressure relief valve and used to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the slot is integral with the first clamp and enables the support bar to move along one or both of an x-axis and a y-axis of the top plate for a flexible connection.

3. The system of either one of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second clamp is at least one Behringer clamp, and the at least one Behringer clamp is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the support bar and/or the central tube.

4. The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the second clamp is a pair of Behringer clamps coupled together and includes a first Behringer clamp configured to be coupled to the support bar and a second Behringer clamp configured to be coupled to the central tube.

5. The system of any one of claims 1-4, wherein a central portion of the exhaust tube is configured to be attached to the top plate of the chromatography column by a third clamp, the third clamp including a slot.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the third clamp is one of: (1) a Behringer clamp having the slot; or (2) a long bar Behringer clamp having the slot, each of which is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the exhaust downtube and/or the central tube.

7. The system of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising a reducer spool configured to be attached to the central tube; and a cross-piece coupled to the reducer spool at one end and configured to be coupled to the pressure relief valve at another end.

8. The system of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the first clamp includes one of a Behringer clamp or a long bar Behringer clamp, the Behringer clamp including a clamp portion with an aperture, a stem extending from the clamp portion, and a body extending from the stem, the body including the slot disposed along a longitudinal axis of the body, and the long bar Behringer clamp including a clamp portion with an aperture, a long bar extending from the clamp portion, and a body extending from the long bar, the body including the slot.

9. A pressure relief valve support system for a chromatography column comprising: a support bar having a first portion configured to be attached to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion configured to be attached to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp; a reducer spool configured to be attached to the central tube; and a cross-piece configured to be coupled to the reducer spool at one end and configured to be coupled to a pressure relief valve at another end.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising an exhaust tube configured to be coupled to another portion of the pressure relief valve and used to support the pressure relief valve and the chromatography column.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the exhaust tube includes a central portion configured to be attached to the top plate of the chromatography column by a third clamp.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the third clamp is one of: (1) a Behringer clamp having the slot; or (2) a long bar Behringer clamp having the slot, each of the Behringer clamp and the long bar Behringer clamp is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the exhaust tube and/or the central tube.

13. The system of any one of claims 9-12, wherein the slot is integral with the first clamp and enables the support bar to move along both an x-axis and a y-axis of the top plate for a flexible connection.

14. The system of any one of claims 9-13, wherein the second clamp is one or more of: (1) at least one Behringer clamp, and the at least one Behringer clamp is disposed at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the support bar and/or the central tube; or (2) a pair of Behringer clamps coupled together and includes a first Behringer clamp configured to be coupled to the support bar and a second Behringer clamp configured to be coupled to the central tube.

15. The system of any one of claims 9-14, wherein the first clamp includes one of a Behringer clamp or a long bar Behringer clamp, the Behringer clamp of including a clamp portion with an aperture, a stem extending from the clamp portion, and a body extending from the stem, the body including the slot disposed along a longitudinal axis of the body, and the long bar Behringer clamp including a clamp portion with an aperture, a long bar extending from the clamp portion, and a body extending from the long bar, the body including the slot.

16. A method of supporting a pressure relief valve configured to be coupled to a chromatography column, the method comprising: attaching a first portion of a support bar to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot; attaching a second portion of the support bar to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp; coupling a first end of a cross-piece to the central tube and a second end of the cross-piece to a portion of a pressure relief valve; and coupling an exhaust tube to another portion of a pressure relief valve to support the pressure relief valve.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising, after attaching a first portion of a support bar to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot and a second portion of the support bar to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp, attaching a reducer spool to the central tube, and then coupling the first end of a cross-piece to the reducer spool.

18. The method of either claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising coupling another portion of the exhaust tube to the top plate of the chromatography column via a third clamp having a slot.

19. The method of any one of claims 16-18, wherein attaching a first portion of a support bar to a top plate of a chromatography column by a first clamp having a slot comprises moving the support bar along one or more of an x-axis and a y- axis of the top plate via the slot of the first clamp that is integral with the first clamp.

20. The method of any one of claims 16-19, wherein attaching a second portion of the support bar to a central tube of the chromatography column via a second clamp comprises disposing the second clamp at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to one or more of the support bar and/or the central tube.