ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a brief review of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of bioactive compounds from solid substratum is presented. The state of the art of SFE in Latin America is described. Examples of research in development, embodying experimental and modeling of mass transfer and thermodynamics, for several systems are discussed. For preliminary studies of technical and economical feasibility, a very simple empirical model can be used to describe the mass transfer in the extractor cell. To calculate the cost of manufacturing (COM), no solubility data are required, and considering the flash separator ideal, the required information is the global yield in extract at a given condition of temperature and pressure along with an estimate time interval for an extraction cycle. COM estimated this way is provided for some Latin American plants.
