Chemistry
Why Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Is a Green Extraction Solvent
Quick fact
At pressures above 73.8 bar and temperatures above 31°C, carbon dioxide becomes a supercritical fluid that can selectively extract caffeine from coffee beans, and when the pressure is released, it returns to a gas, leaving no solvent residues in the product.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a liquid that can dissolve substances like a solvent, yet flows through materials like a gas—and then disappears without a trace. What if such a solvent were completely non-toxic and recyclable?