ABSTRACT
Supercritical fluids hold special promise as novel solvents in current and future industrial applications. The favorable phase behavior, solubility, and mass transport characteristics in supercritical fluids has lead to a growing interest in exploiting supercritical fluids as a medium for chemical reactions. Presently, supercritical CO2 is being used in industrial processes involving the extraction of hop essence, in dry cleaning of clothes, and in paint spraying. Recently, DuPont announced to build a facility to evaluate supercritical CO2 as a solvent for the industrial production of fluoropolymers. Most of industry’s supercritical fluid applications involve either bulk extractions or their use as reaction solvents. In the drug industry there is the need for conversion of pharmaceuticals into nanometer-size particles for injectable use. This materials commutation can be accomplished using a supercritical fluid procedure [Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Fluid Solutions (RESS)]. All these industrial processes are built on a fundamental understanding of supercritical fluids. The need still exists for a molecular-level understanding of both the kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of these compressible solvents [a recent excellent review of supercritical fluid fundamentals and applications has been published (1)].
