Textbook in PDF format

This book is divided into eleven chapters, encompassing the fundamentals of supercritical fluids, basic concepts of phase equilibria and transport processes for design, operation, and optimization of supercritical fluid extraction process plants in the first three chapters, and the recent developments in eight broad classes of natural extracts using supercritical CO2 extraction technology in the subsequent chapters. Some natural overlaps in later chapters are due to the multitude of the common attributes of these natural extracts.
As the scope of this book is deliberately broad and detailed on both processes and products, it was felt necessary to include a huge data base collated on both fundamental and application aspects of potential supercritical extraction processes and products. Elaborate comparison of the performance of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction technique with contemporary processes practiced by various industries, has been presented in this book with a view to alleviating the apprehension about the feasibility of using this technology commercially.
The information in this book has been collected from various international conferences, meetings, and symposia, and books and journals published in the past decade on supercritical fluids. This is in addition to my personal experience over the last two decades in research, design, and development in this area.
The book is intended to be used by students, researchers, and industrialists in the disciplines of chemical and biochemical engineering and food technology, in addition to house managers, herbalists, nutritionists, and those interested in natural products, including Ayurvedic and Unani medicines. It is hoped that the book will widen the scope of commercial success for the potential applications of supercritical CO2 extraction technology in the new millennium