What is a Supercritical Fluid?

A supercritical fluid (SCF) is any substance above its critical temperature and pressure; the fluid has the properties of both gas and liquid while not exhibiting a distinct liquid or gaseous phase. Thus, an SCF is,

• Dense like a liquid to dissolve materials

• Has low viscosity, high diffusivity, no surface tension like a gas

Carbon dioxide is the most commonly used supercritical fluid and becomes supercritical at 31^oC and 74 BAR. There are many applications for scCO₂, including decaffeination of coffee, extraction of natural products, and waterless textile dyeing.

Carbon dioxide is environmentally friendly, non-toxic and in our case most of the CO₂ is internally recycled with very little vented to the atmosphere. scCO₂ based operations represent a very “green” technology.

Visit our site for more information.

Meet the Fashion industry’s Color Matching Demands with CO2

eCO₂Dye, in conjunction with Applied Separations, has developed a color database which may be used in the Datacolor ColorMatch Software used with their line of Supercritical CO₂ systems for waterless textile dyeing.

Now you can use our color match capability on yarn, thread, fabric, and garments while using CO₂ to dye your fiber without water.

The eCO₂Dye system obtains excellent color matching with as many as 4 dyes, allowing users to meet the strict demands of the fashion industry.

Visit www.eco2dye.com for more information.

Waterless Textile Dyeing with CO2

It's 2015 and the technology works!

eCO₂Dye, in conjunction with Applied Separations, Dingo Ltd, and Halide Group Inc, has developed a waterless textile dyeing process and equipment for dyeing. The process uses carbon dioxide as the solvent for dyeing as opposed to water as the medium in conventional dyeing.
Our Process for dyeing polyester offers the following advantages versus conventional dyeing in water

• CO₂ replaces water as the dye solvent
• Saves energy
• Uses fewer and less chemicals
• Generates practically no waste streams
• Carbon dioxide is recycled and not vented
• Reduces the number of process steps
• Simplifies dyeing chemistry
• Reduces plant footprint
• Flexibility in site location

For more information, visit eCO2Dye.com

Natural Products Extracts Without Hexane

Hexane is a commonly used solvent in natural products and essential oil extractions, but hexane has been categorized as a hazardous air pollutant by the US EPA, and is included on their list of toxic chemicals.

Despite best efforts, facilities using hexane may leak up to 6,000 pounds of hexane a day into the atmosphere. In addition, extracts will contain undesirable hexane residue. The solution: Supercritical Fluid extractions.

• No hazardous waste
• No chemical residue
• No health hazard
• Environmentally friendly

View the Applied Separations website for information about natural products extractions and supercritical fluids.

It All Starts with Coffee

Supercritical... Coffee?

After its discovery, the first large scale use of supercritical fluids in extracting natural products was the decaffeination of coffee. Since then, many industries have made the switch to supercritical fluid. Producers of essential oils are finding supercritical fluids to be an excellent replacement for traditional methods that use hazardous chemicals.

Solvent Free extracts created with supercritical fluids are found in foods, fragrances, herbal extracts, natural medicines, aromatherapy… and the list goes on.

For more information about how supercritical fluid can improve YOUR process, visit the  Essentials Oils section of the Applied Separations website.

Chemical-free Fragrance Extraction at Low Temperatures

Whether you’re extracting fragrances for perfumes or foods, you want the highest quality extract with the least chemical residue. Using supercritical fluid to extract your fragrances is the way to accomplish this with no hazardous chemicals.

© Raymond Kasprzak
Dreamstime Stock Photos

 Fragrance compounds are volatile molecules that have an odor or aroma. They are low molecular weight compounds and are found in food, wine, spices, flowers and many natural products. These volatile essential oils are composed of esters, terpenes, cyclic terpenes, aromatics, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and lactones. All of these compounds are readily soluble in supercritical CO₂ at low temperatures and low pressures.

Visit the Applied Separations website for more information about Supercritical Fragrance Extraction and Supercritical Fluids.

Environmentally Friendly Essential Oil Extractions

The use of essential oils has become "essential" for modern living. Essential oils can be primary ingredients in perfumes for cosmetics or soaps and detergents. They form the basis of the spices in our foods. Essential oils are the base for aromatherapy.

What if there was a way to extract essential oils quickly and efficiently, without compromising the quality of the extract? There is. Supercritical carbon dioxide.

With supercritical fluids:

• No Solvent residue. No health hazard. Maintains a "natural" state. 
• Mild Extraction Conditions – 31°C temperature 
• Fractionation - easy using only CO₂ - CO₂ is a "tunable solvent" – easily change your temperature/pressure to suit your material 

Supercritical CO₂ can also be used in conjunction with more traditional methods such as soaking perfume feedstocks in an organic solvent for a period of time. The organic solvents containing the extracted the perfumes (essential oils) and accompanying waxes is then decanted and evaporated, leaving a concrete. The essential oils can easily be separated from the wax with supercritical CO₂. Because of the low temperature, the process gives high recoveries.

Click here to see an example of a supercritical system for the extraction of essential oils.

Visit Applied Separations for more information.