Collection of ENEA technology and expertise
Supercritical Fluid Extraction Process
Application sectors
Problem to solve
The green nature of the technology, without the use of organic solvents, makes it particularly suitable for applications that require high safety standards for the extract and the matrix, such as food, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. This also favors the economic efficiency of the process, as no subsequent solvent removal steps are necessary. The ability of the supercritical fluid to combine properties of liquids (e.g., solvation power) with those of gases (high diffusivity, low viscosity) enables effective extractions with shorter process times. The possibility of varying the density in the extraction or separation phase allows for obtaining extracts with high purity for high-value applications (e.g., nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals). The extraction of fish waste matrices promotes its use in the blue economy through the recovery of molecules with health-promoting properties (e.g., PUFAs, carotenoids, vitamin D).
Description
ENEA is able to offer the realization of extractive campaigns for lipophilic substances (fatty acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, vitamin D, food or essential oils) using supercritical fluid technology on bench and pilot scales, starting from solid-state agri-food matrices, including waste and by-products. The SFE extraction activity on a bench scale (up to 5 g) allows for identifying the best operating conditions for extracting families of molecules of interest based on recovery yields and concentration in the final extract. Scaling up to pilot scale enables increasing the treated quantities (100-300 g), favoring evaluations of the process's ability to maintain results as the extraction scale increases. It is also possible to analyze the optimal separation conditions achievable on a pilot scale thanks to the presence of a separation system including three separators that can be characterized by different pressure and temperature conditions, capable of fractionating the extract. The biomasses subject to the extraction process must be characterized by a minimum moisture content (e.g., around 5%) and a reduced particle size (less than 1 mm): ENEA is also able to offer a matrix pre-treatment service (e.g., lyophilization, oven drying, grinding).
Innovative aspects and advantages
- Appreciable extraction yields thanks to the properties of the supercritical fluid (high density and diffusivity, low viscosity) with high extract quality thanks to the modularity of the density/solubilization of the molecules as the operating conditi
- Identification of the best extraction conditions on a bench scale and evaluation of replicability on a pilot scale.
- Low operating temperatures (40 – 50 °C) favorable for extraction applications of thermolabile molecules, with biological activity or requiring the possibility of minimizing the loss of the volatile/aromatic component
- No use of organic solvents: improved production safety, no risk of use of the final product; no subsequent solvent removal phases.
Admissible applications
- Downstream of fermentation processes with extraction of nutraceutical/pharmaceutical molecules from biomass (e.g. yeasts, mushrooms). Pretreatment of hydrophilic extractions (e.g. protein extraction). Extraction of undesired and harmful ingredients
- Solvent-free extraction of primary biological matrices (e.g. oilseeds, microalgae, medicinal herbs) to obtain high added value fractions for food, nutraceutical, cosmetic, agronomic uses.
- Valorization secondary biomass (fish/insect waste, grape seeds, tomato waste, spent grains/bran) by extraction of compounds with food, nutraceutical value (unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin D, tocopherols, carotenoids).
Research group involved
Revision date
04-06-2025
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