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How to Start Production with Supercritical Extraction?

The wide use of supercritical fluid technology, the demand for natural products, sustainable and environmentally friendly  The increasing interest in processing technologies brings this technology to the fore. We too; For you, our precious and potential business partners, we have explained the steps to go through in order to start a feasible production with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction Systems. First of all, we will list the usage areas of the system in general and move on to the stages.

  • Extraction of active ingredients from natural products,

  • Extraction of oil and active pharmaceutical ingredient from medicinal aromatic plants,

  • Obtaining drug active ingredient from medical cannabis,

  • High pressure sterilization,

  • Functional foods,

  • Separation of caffeine from tea and coffee,

  • Production of reduced fat food products,

  • Oil extraction from oil seeds,

  • Extraction of fatty acids from natural oils (fish oil),

  • Obtaining value-added products from food waste,

  • Extraction of vitamins,

  • Production of natural color substances (pigment),

  • Algae extraction,

  • Removal of nicotine and tar from tobacco,

  • Fragrance and Aroma extraction,

  • Aerogel Drying Process,

  • Production of natural cosmetic raw materials,

  • Propolis extraction (pure propolis extraction),

  • Production of food supplements and OTC raw materials,

​Advantages of using CO2 in extraction:

​

  • CO2 is non-toxic,

  • It is not flammable or explosive,

  • There is no risk of oxidation,

  • There is no risk of leaving residue,

  • It is an accessible and inexpensive gas,

  • Critical temperature (31.0 °C) and pressure (73.8 bar) are low,

  • It can be recovered and used over and over again,

  • Accompanying co-solvents (Co-Solvent), ethanol, water, etc. available.

Phase 1 – Laboratory/R&D Studies – Code: F Series

Knowing the content of a raw material allows you to predict in which industries you can evaluate the product you will obtain. Thanks to this foresight, we can reveal from raw material, which molecules, under which temperature and pressure parameters we have extracted, by having extracts analyzed. In this way, you will understand which molecules you can get from your raw material, whether the Carbon Dioxide is sufficient to get the target molecules, and whether an extra co-solvent is needed.
Our device with which you can do these studies is the Superex F-500 with an extractor-reactor volume of 500 ml. The F-500 stands out with its compact and countertop design, easy sample loading and removal, easy cleaning and affordable price. With the F-500, you can extract the plant or raw material you want with the parameters you set on the touch screen. Thanks to its easy cleaning, you can continue your work with a simple cleaning procedure when switching from one plant to another plant. The cleaning procedure is usually done in the form of cleaning the pipelines with ethanol or hot water by feeding and pressurizing CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the system. In the F-500 system, you can extract from liquid or solid product. Plant studies are generally carried out by loading them into the extractor column in dry, ground form.
So when you have the Superex F-500 system; With a small investment, you can study as many products as you want and reveal the product and parameters you plan to produce. 
In terms of capacity, the F-500 system receives an average of 40% of the volume of leafy, dry, ground product and 80-85% of the seed-like product. For example, 500 ml extractor column; It is filled with 200 grams of dry ground lavender leaves or 400 grams of hemp seeds. These ratios are similar in other Supercritical systems.

Lab scale supercritical fluid extraction system

Phase 2 – Advanced Laboratory Studies – Code: SC Series

SC Series supercritical CO2 Extraction Systems

You can think of these devices as scaled-down versions of pilot and industrial systems. They provide higher flow rates than the F-500 system. Ensuring these flow rates; It is provided with high pressure resistant, temperature controlled separator columns and liquefaction system. In this way, you simulate a production system. For example, if you take a lavender extract in 90-120 minutes in the F-500 system, you will take it in an average of 45 minutes with an SC series device. 
SC series systems are designed in 1, 2 and 5 liter volumes. It can use the same carbon dioxide gas over and over, we call it the CO2 Recycling feature. In addition, the CO2 Recovery Feature, where we can store the carbon dioxide gas used, can be added to these systems. However, the CO2 Recovery feature makes sense in systems of 5 liters and above. Thus, it can recover and reuse 85% of the carbon dioxide gas used. This rate rises above 95% in industrial systems. 
With systems of this volume, prototype product trials and boutique productions can be made. 
Fractionation Feature : Supercritical carbon dioxide is a selective solvent. It dissolves low molecular weight components at low temperature and pressures and high molecular weight components at high pressures and temperatures. When we gradually reduce the pressure in the separator columns where we collect the extract, we can separate the extract according to their molecular weights. Thus, when we reduce the pressure gradually in a system with 3 separators, we can get the heaviest components in the first separator, the medium weight components in the second separator, and the components with the lowest molecular weight in the third separator.
While the fractionation feature is generally preferred in 10 liter and above pilot systems, it can be added in 2 and 5 liter systems if desired. 
 

Phase 3 – Pilot Studies – Code: P Series

Pilot systems; They are systems on a scale where you can reach production volumes, see the market share of your products and focus on production and branding. With the productions you will make in the pilot system, you will be able to clarify the production volume in the raw materials you will process. If the variety of raw materials you intend to process is high, you can buy special machines for similar products. For example, you can create a 10+10 Liter pilot system for a few similar products, a 30+30 Liter system for other similar products, and a 100+100 Liter system for a few other products. In this way, you can continue production without going through an intensive cleaning procedure on the machines where you process similar products. This method is generally suitable for our customers who produce Food Supplements and Natural Cosmetic Raw Materials.
You can reach serious production volumes with a pilot system. For example, with a system with a volume of 30+30 liters, you can process an average of 150-250 kilograms of dry, ground herbs per day. Especially in the pharmaceutical industry, these capacities are considered as production scales.
One of the most important advantages of pilot systems is that; Let's say you targeted a molecule from a raw material in your studies on pilot systems and settled the extraction process. The boundary conditions you set here will determine your design and maximum needs in the Industrial System. These boundary conditions are, for example, 250 Bar 60 °C in the production of caffeine from tea. In this case, the maximum pressure of the Industrial system you need will be 250 bar, so you do not need a system with a maximum pressure of 350-400 Bar. The low maximum pressure significantly reduces the cost of Industrial Systems. Because the reaction takes place in pressure vessels, the pressure boundary condition changes the wall thickness of the reactor, which directly affects the cost.
 

Stage 4 – Industrial Production- Code: You don't need a code, it's ready for production

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Although the fields in which Industrial Supercritical Extraction Systems can be used are very wide, they have not become widespread yet. However, with the increasing number of green technologies and sustainability-themed studies, this technology is becoming more and more prominent.  The efficient operation of industrial systems is possible with the logical conduct of R&D and pilot studies. Successful investments and studies are generally the ones that are done correctly. Since the establishment and commissioning of industrial systems requires serious investments, the investments made must be accurate and on point. It is necessary to do this with an experienced team.  We also design and project industrial systems in line with your needs and establish facilities of any scale you want.  We design and manufacture all our systems with Domestic Infrastructure and our expert team. We are always ready to provide technical information, support and machinery for all your work on Supercritical Fluid Systems.

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