In this work a new approach to the control of simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatographic separation processes is presented. This approach is based on the combination of the wave theory and Multi-Model Predictive Control (MMPC). The wave theory provides the theoretical framework in which the control law is formulated whereas receding-horizon MPC is used for determining the appropriate controller parameters. As SMB plants are distributed parameter systems (DPS) with nonlinearity arising from the expression of the adsorption isotherms, classical numerical methods for the solution of DPS are computationally demanding for MPC purposes. Reduced-order models are there fore derived using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique. To ensure stability, the POD model is updated on-line, resulting in MMPC. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.