Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) Systems

Supercritical Fluid Extraction employs a supercritical fluid, most commonly CO2, as the A mobile phase solvent for the extraction. The intrinsic low viscosity and high diffusivity of supercritical CO2 has rendered SFE a faster extraction and higher efficiency technique when compared to traditional liquid extraction. This provides faster flow rates and thus faster extraction times without the requirement for a higher pressure system. The addition of a co-solvent to the CO2 flow can help tune the strength further. The extraction oven can offer temperatures up to 90°C. Lastly after the extraction vessel is the back pressure regulator, which provides the back pressure requirement to keep the CO2 supercritical, and is an integral part of the performance of the extraction.

 

Advantages

1. Selectivity CO2 polarity varies greatly depending upon the pressure it is exposed to. This makes CO2 a tunable solvent which allows the user to find the precise conditions for extraction of the compounds of interest while leaving unwanted compounds behind. This inherent trait of CO2 greatly reduces the need for post extraction cleanup that would be necessary with most solvent extractions.
2. No Residual Solvents Given the gaseous state of CO2 at atmospheric conditions, the resulting extract does not require the long rotovap time needed to dry solvent extracted analytes.
3. Faster Given the high diffusivity and low viscosity of CO2 in its supercritical state, the extractions typically take a fraction of the time compared to solvent extractions.
4. Higher Yield Due to increased temperature and pressure, supercritical CO2 can penetrate many matrices that solvents cannot, thereby allowing for greater surface area contact which in turn increases yield.
5. Low Operating Cost Cost Per Extraction is significantly lower as the cost of CO2 is much lower than the equivalent amount of solvent.
6. Environmentally Friendly

 

 

 

JASCO SFE Series Type :

Analytical SFE

The analytical CO2 pump offers built-in Peltier cooling to maintain a stable CO2 flow yielding excellent extraction time reproducibility. Automatic, built-in shut-off valves close the CO2 inlet and outlet and isolate the pumps for quick and simple priming when not pumping.

The system can be configured for CO2 only or 1-10 co-solvents, 1-10 extraction vessels for the vessel volumes listed above and 1, 6, 12 or 54 fractions.

 

Extraction Vessel		CO2 Flow Rate
Analytical	1mL, 5mL, 10mL		0.5 – 10mL

 

Hybrid SFE

The hybrid CO2 pump offers a flow range from 0.5 to 20mL/min covering both analytical 10mL vessels up to semi-prep 100mL vessels. Automatic, built-in shut-off valves close the CO2 inlet and outlet and isolate the pumps for quick and simple priming when not pumping.

The system can be configured for CO2 only or 1-10 co-solvents, 1-10 extraction vessels for the vessel volumes listed above and 1, 6, 12 or 54 fractions.

System	Extraction Vessel	CO2 Flow Rate
Hybrid	10mL, 50mL, 100mL	0.5 – 20mL

 

Semi-Prep SFE

The semi-prep CO2 pump offers a flow range from 5 to 40mL/min covering 50mL vessels up to 200mL vessels. Automatic, built-in shut-off valves close the CO2 inlet and outlet and isolate the pumps for quick and simple priming when not pumping.

The system can be configured for CO2 only or 1-10 co-solvents, 1-10 extraction vessels for the vessel volumes listed above and 1, 6, 12 or 54 fractions.

System	Extraction Vessel	CO2 Flow Rate
Semi-Preparative	50mL, 100mL, 200mL	0.5 – 40mL

 

Preparative SFE

The Prep CO2 pump offers a flow range from 10 to 150mL/min covering 500mL vessels up to 2L vessels. Automatic, built-in shut-off valves close the CO2 inlet and outlet and isolate the pumps for quick and simple priming when not pumping.

The system can be configured for CO2 only or 1-10 co-solvents, 1-10 extraction vessels for the vessel volumes listed above and 1, 6, 12 or 54 fractions.

System	Extraction Vessel	CO2 Flow Rate
Preparative	500mL, 1L, 2L	10 – 150mL