Supercritical Fluid Extraction System

Salient Features
Pressures up to 700 bar for lab scale units & up to 450 bar for commercial plants
Semi or fully automated PLC-based plants with CO2 recycling
PED, U stamp, CE, CSA, UL certification optional
Customizable designs as per client requirements

World-class technology for natural products
There is a tremendous demand for high purity & residual solvent-free extracts of natural products. Also, there is an increasing requirement of eco-friendly manufacturing processes for the extraction of natural products
Supercritical fluid extraction technology provides an economical solution to providing a safe & eco-friendly way for the extraction of natural products. Its superiority over the conventional technologies of extraction, especially for natural products in the food and pharmaceutical industry is well recognized
Supercritical CO2 textile dyeing is an emerging innovative waterless technology for dyeing of textile fabrics that will revive the textile industries

Commercial Applications of SCFE extractor systems
Extraction of natural products such as spice oil & oleoresins, flavors, fragrances, colors
Decaffeination of tea & coffee
Production of uniform &ultra fine particles
Supercritical CO2 (SCO2) textile dyeing of fabrics
Supercritical CO2 (SCO2) cleaning of high precision metal components
Drying of aerogels

Advantages of SCFE system
Extract with delicacy & freshness close to natural
The high potency of active components
Longer shelf life extracts
Eco-friendly & green technology with no residual solvent & effluents
The high flexibility of process conditions
Simultaneous fractionation of extracts
High yields compared to solvent extracted products
Low batch times for extraction
Recycling of CO2
Low operating cost

Advantage of CO2 as a solvent
Carbon dioxide is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for food products
Inexpensive & easily available
Non-toxic, non-flammable and inert to most materials

Process description for lab-scale plants
The Carbon dioxide gas from the cylinder is first liquefied & then pressurized above the critical pressure of CO2 (73.8 bar) to the required pressure necessary for extraction. This high-pressure liquid CO2 is then heated above the critical temperature of CO2 (31 °C) to the required temperature. CO2 which is now in supercritical phase (SCCO2) enters the extractor where the raw material is fed in powder form & the extraction is achieved on the basis of solubility. The compounds dissolved in SCCO2 finally come to the separator at atmospheric pressure & get precipitated. CO2 leaving the separator is then measured by passing it through a CO gas flow meter.

Process description for a commercial-scale plant
The raw material in powder form is fed to the extractor. The liquid carbon dioxide from the CO2 tank is precooled by passing it through the precooler. This precooled liquid carbon dioxide is then pressurized by means of a positive displacement plunger pump to a pressure above the critical pressure of CO2 (i.e. 73.8 bar). High-pressure liquid CO2 is then heated above the critical temperature of CO2 (i.e 31 °C) by passing it through preheater. CO2 which is now in the supercritical state enters the extractor in which the raw material is loaded. The SCCO2 dissolves substances on the basis of solubility, depending on operating conditions. The SCCO2 with soluble extracts enters the separators where the pressure & temperature are reduced sequentially so that solubility decreases & extract precipitates in the separators. Finally, the clean CO2 without any traces is recycled back to the CO2 tank via a condenser.