1. Supercritical Fluid
extraction(SFE)
 Supercritical fluid extraction:
is process of
separating one component from another (the
matrix) using supercritical fluids as the
extracting solvent.

2. Historical Background
 Solvent properties of SCF were first reported
well over 100 years ago 1879 by Hannay and
Hogarth(measured solubility of inorganic
salts in supercritical ethanol)
 Since 1980s and 1990s SCF has been used in
several industrial processes.

3. Critical Condition
 At a certain temperature and pressure
condition, liquid and vapor phrases of a
substance become indistinguishable, known
a CRITICAL CONDITION.

4. Components of SFE
 fluid Reservoir
 Pump
 Reciprocating pump
 Syringe pump
Extraction cell/column
 usually stainless steel chamber or vessel in
compartment
 Capable of withstanding high pressure
 Open tubular capillary columns or packed columns

5. Supercritical CO2
1. Here we can see the separate phases of carbon
dioxide.
2. With an increase in temperature the meniscus
begins to diminish
3. Increasing the temperature further causes the
gas and liquid densities to become more
similar.
4. The meniscus is less easily observed but still
exists.
5. Once the critical temperature and pressure
have been reached, the two distinct phases of
liquid and gas are no longer visible

6. Advantages
 Elimination of organic solvents i.e. reduces
the risk of storage
 Rapid(due to fast back-diffusion of analytes
in the SCF reduces the extraction time since
the complete extraction step is performed in
about 20 min)
 Suitable for extraction and purification of
compounds having low volatility present in
solid or liquid
 Susceptible to thermal degradation

7. Advantages
 Complete separation
 Continuous process
 Low handling cost
 Solvent recovery is easy
 Versatile and efficient

8. Limitations
 Prolonged time
 Modeling is inaccurate
 Scale is not possible
 Expensive
 Consistency & reproducibility

9. Applications
 Food science
 Natural products
 By products recovery

10. Thank you!