Supercritical Fluid Extraction
What is it ?
Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is the process of separating one component (the extractant) from another (the matrix) using supercritical fluids as the extracting solvent. Extraction is usually from a solid matrix, but can also be from liquids.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most used supercritical fluid, sometimes modified by co-solvents such as ethanol or methanol. Extraction conditions for supercritical carbon dioxide are above the critical temperature of 31 °C and critical pressure of 74 bar. Addition of modifiers may slightly alter this.
Supercritical Fluid Extraction
Features
- The properties of the supercritical fluid can be altered by varying the pressure and temperature, allowing selective extraction. For example, volatile oils can be extracted from a plant with low pressures (100 bar), whereas liquid extraction would also remove lipids. Lipids can be removed using pure CO2 at higher pressures, and then phospholipids can be removed by adding ethanol to the solvent
- Extraction is a diffusion-based process, in which the solvent is required to diffuse into the matrix and the extracted material to diffuse out of the matrix into the solvent. Diffusivities are much faster in supercritical fluids than in liquids, and therefore extraction can occur faster
SFE can be used as a sample preparation step for analytical purposes, or on a larger scale to either strip unwanted material from a product (e.g. decaffeination) or collect a desired product (e.g. essential oils). These essential oils can include limonene and other straight solvents
What we do
We design, manufacture and supply world class Supercritical Fluid Extraction equipment tailor made to suit specific applications (Pilot to Commercial scale).
All our designs, drawings, manufacturing steps and testing are as per latest international codes & standards such as the TUV.
ITSB specifically caters to applications in
- Spice Extracts (Oil & Oleoresin)
- Flavors & Fragrances
- Natural Food Colors
- Food Preservatives (antioxidants)
- Herbal Medicines (Nutraceuticals)
- Natural Pesticides (E.G. Neem)
- Decaffeination (Coffee & Tea)
- Hop Extracts (Bitter)
- Deoiling Of Fast Foods
Custom Scale Systems
100 ml to 1000 ltr. extractors. Pressures upto 689 bar
Lab & Pilot Scale
Industry scale extraction for the Agro and Textile Industry
Why SFE
High concentration of desired active components. Preserved bio-activity