Supercritical Fluid Science and Technology

An overview of new research directions is presented. The domain of this field has grown significantly with advances in separations, reactions, and materials processing of complex substances such as polymers, surfactants, and biomolecules. The field has encompassed a large number of areas in engineering and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences, which will be discussed. In the U.S. new commercial processes include coffee decaffeination, hops extraction, catalyst regeneration, extraction of organic wastes from water, and supercritical fluid chromatography. These applications complement older technologies such as residuum oil supercritical extraction (ROSE), carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery, and reaction processes for the production of polyethylene and primary alcohols in supercritical fluid ethylene. The interest in environmental applications is increasing rapidly. Given the experience gained in developing commercial plants in Europe, the U.S., and now Japan and Korea, it would be expected that the time lag between research and commercialization will diminish.