Process specificity and control are easily manipulated - small temperature and/or pressure changes can change solubility by an order of magnitude or more. These unique features facilitate product recovery, the "fine tuning" of solvation power, and the separation of mixed products. The selectivity of nonpolar supercritical fluid solvents can be further enhanced by the use of small molar concentrations of polar entrainers or cosolvents, such as ethanol. In addition, SuperFluids™ can exhibit a liquid-like density and at the same time, gas-like properties of diffusivity and viscosity. The latter increases mass transfer rates, significantly reducing processing time. Ultra-low surface tension properties of SuperFluids™ allow increased biomass penetration and improved product yields.
Supercritical fluid technology is well established in other industries such as the decaffeination of coffee and hops extraction. Strategic advantages of SuperFluids™ in natural therapeutic manufacturing are: working solvents are readily removed, without leaving toxic residual traces; production times decrease as much as 10- to 100-fold because of unique physicochemical properties; amenability to either batch or continuous processing; and scalability with resulting economical benefits.
