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Supercritical CO2 Extractor
SUPEREX F-500
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Supercritical Fluid
Extraction Systems
In the supercritical fluid extraction method Is a solvent other than CO2 used?
The supercritical fluid extraction system is often referred to as the Supercritical Co2 extraction system. Every substance has a Supercritical phase. However, it is the most suitable Co2 gas in terms of usability. Because Co2; It is not flammable, explosive or toxic, it is food compatible, it has lower critical temperature and pressure values than equivalent solvents.
Is any substance other than CO2 needed for extraction?
Only Co2 is sufficient to obtain bioactive components such as oil, flavor and active substance that can usually be taken
from the product.Since Co2 is nonpolar, it can extract similar components more easily. However Ethanol can be
added to the system as a co-solvent-modifier when removing some polar components. In this way when extraction done, the main solvent is still CO2. Only by changing the polarity of the medium with alcohol, polar components can be obtained.we made such an extraction while obtaining curcumin from Turmeric. This type of work can be done as follows; A residue-free extract is obtained by extracting most of the plant's content by firstly extraction with Co2. Then, by adding alcohol to the system, the desired molecule can be focused.
Does the extraction result in powder or liquid extract? Does the machine dry function?
The density of the extracts varies according to the working pressure. When working at low pressures (100-150 bar), substances with lower molecular weights and products in the form of clear oil rich in volatile components are obtained. When the pressure value is high (200-300 bar), components rich in active ingredients and high molecular weight are obtained in semi-liquid form. This may vary depending on the product you will extract. E.g; When we extract caffeine from tea, we get caffeine particles in the form of solid particles, and when we extract a rice bran, we get a creamy extract in foam form.
Is a substance added to form a liquid extract? (water or oil, extract manufacturers produce extracts in water or oil, does it apply to this machine as well)
There is no substance that we need to add for the liquid extract. As I mentioned, whether the extract is liquid or solid may vary depending on the product. There may be oils produced by the maceration method you mentioned as liquid extract. There, by keeping the plant in an oil like olive oil, the factors in the plant are transferred to the olive oil. There is an extract form called powder extract, which is generally done as follows; I know that the plant is extracted with alcohol, the alcohol is evaporated, and then this extract is mixed with the powder form of the extracted plant and encapsulated. This method can have high temperatures and residual risk of alcohol. The purpose of this method may be to reveal the extract and increase its absorption.
Can we say the final product is 100% pure extract?
We can say that our final product is 100% pure, because when we take the extract, we reduce the Co2 pressure to atmospheric pressure, and when the pressure drops, Co2 turns into gas form and evaporates. Even if Co2 may leave a residue, it does not pose a problem because we already consume Co2 in carbonated drinks.
Will flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, essential oils, fatty acids, in short, active ingredients be damaged in the final product extracted by this method?
I can say that one of the biggest advantages of this method is that the bioactive components are not damaged, because
We do the extraction at temperatures between 32-60 °C, during the extraction and the extract in the separator.
When we collect, there is no oxidation risk because there is no Oxygen in the environment.
If the used plant, whose extract is extracted, is processed again, is it possible to form an extract again?
When you work in a production-oriented system, you will have taken at least 90-95% of the components in the product within an average of 2 hours, because the flow rate is high in these systems. However, due to the low flow rate in the laboratory type 500 ml system, the time may be longer. We recommend the 500 ml system for R&D studies. Also, as I mentioned in the previous  answer about re-extraction, if you use a modifier, you can obtain alcohol-soluble components.
Does the machine perform purity control or active ingredient amount analysis?
Our machine does not analyze. Analyzes of active substances are made sensitively in chromatography devices. You can have an analysis done at universities and some institutes.
What are the advantages over microwave and ultrasound assisted extraction?Â
These systems can be used to increase efficiency in solvent extraction systems. It makes sense to obtain more essential oil and hydrosol. In supercritical extraction, you can obtain aroma, volatile component, fixed oil and active substances by changing the pressure and temperature.
How many kg of plants can be worked with at a time, how many kg of extract is produced and how long does the process take at once?
The product loading volume changes according to the density of the product. As a dry, ground herb, it can take about one-third to two-thirds of its volume. For example, in the 500 ml volume extractor column, 200 grams of lavender plant can be taken, 150 grams of thyme and 400 grams of cannabis seeds can be taken. Since the specific gravity of the seeds is high, the amount of loading increases. The amount of extract also varies from product to product. In some types of lavender and thyme, a yield of around 5% can be obtained. You can obtain almost all of the extract contained in the plant.
Is the plant treated before extraction? (does it need to be dried or can the fresh herb be used?)
Dry and ground material usage is the most convenient method. The fact that the plant is not dried causes the water in the plant to become a barrier to carbon dioxide. However, it can also be downloaded and tested fresh.
Is there a plant species that cannot be extracted with this method?
I don't remember a plant that we tried and couldn't get an extract from, usually an extract is obtained. It will be able to extract all plants that can be tried in other extraction methods. However, for some materials, the extract could not be obtained by other methods, but we tried it in Supercritical and obtained the extract.
For which type of plants can be said to be the most effective method?
We can say that it is the most suitable for the extraction of medicinal and aromatic plants. Because the use of few and valuable active ingredients in these plants is very logical in terms of the added value of the products produced by the system. In the USA and Canada, it is used very actively to obtain medicinal substances from cannabis leaves.