Liquid CO2 from the storage is pressurized, heated and transferred to the extractor, where it gets loaded according to adjusted conditions. A change of these conditions (pressure, temperature) causes precipitation of the dissolved substances in the separation vessels. The now gaseous CO2 is condensed, intermediately stored and recycled again.
Gases in fluid condition (above the critical pressure and the critical temperature) dissolve larger quantities of substances than the partial pressure of the substance in the solvent normally permits
CO2 is an UNPOLAR solvent, which results in a high solubility for non polar and low polar substances up to a molecular weight of 250
Solubility decreases with increasing polarity
High polar substances are insoluble
The raw material is exposed to the fluid and soluble substances are transferred into it
Separation is achieved by change of parameters or adsorption
Applications:
Food industry: Coffee, tea, hops, herbs & spices, flavours, antioxidants,Extraction of special oils, Deoiling of press cakes, Cleaning of rice
Pharmaceutical industry: Extraction of herbal medicines, Refining of pharmaceuticals
Cosmetic industry: Active ingredients for cosmetic applications, Fragrances
Other applications: Cleaning of cork, Impregnation of wood