Supercritical CO2 Extraction

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction uses carbon dioxide under

extremely high pressure to extract essential oils. Plants are placed in
a stainless steel tank and, as carbon dioxide is injected into the tank,
pressure inside the tank builds. Under high pressure, the carbon
dioxide turns into a liquid and acts as a solvent to extract the
essential oils from the plants. When the pressure is decreased, the
carbon dioxide returns to a gaseous state, leaving no residues
behind.

Many carbon dioxide extractions have fresher, cleaner, and crisper

aromas than steam-distilled essential oils, and they smell more
similar to the living plants. Scientific studies show that carbon dioxide
extraction produces essential oils that are very potent and have great
therapeutic benefits. This extraction method uses lower temperatures
than steam distillation, making it more gentle on the plants. It
produces higher yields and makes some materials, especially gums
and resins, easier to handle. Many essential oils that cannot be
extracted by steam distillation are obtainable with carbon dioxide
extraction. In the future, many botanicals that are not now available
may possibly be obtained through carbon dioxide extraction.

About CO2 Extracts

CO2 Extracts, Supercritical CO2 Extracts and CO2 Essential
Oils

CO2 extracts, also known as supercritical extracts or supercritical fluid CO 2 extracts, are
extremely pure plant extracts produced from a relatively new and highly efficient extraction
process. CO2 extraction produces superior herbal extracts for use in herbal medicine as well
as aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Essential oils have traditionally been derived using
either steam or hydro distillation, or extracted using chemical solvents such as hexane,
heptane or ethanol. The supercritical CO2 extract and its process have many benefits over
the traditional distillation processes, which should be taken into consideration when choosing
an essential oil. Below you will find more information regarding the supercritical process and
CO2 essential oils. Please click here to view the CO2 extracts that we sell.

The CO2 extraction process consists of pumping pressurized carbon dioxide into a chamber
filled with plant matter. When carbon dioxide is subjected to pressure it becomes
"supercritical" and has liquid properties while remaining in a gaseous state. Because of the
liquid properties of the gas, the CO2 functions as a solvent, pulling the oils and other
substances such as pigment and resin from the plant matter. Thus, the difference between
CO2, or supercritical, extraction and traditional distillation is that CO2 is used as a solvent
instead of heated water or steam. The temperature involved in the supercritical extraction
process is around 95 to 100 degrees F as opposed to 140 to 212 degrees F in steam
distillation.
Steam distillation is typically considered the best way to obtain essential oils for use in
aromatherapy. However, this method produces varying oil qualities dependent upon the
temperature, pressure and time used for distillation. The CO2 extraction process, or
supercritical extraction process, will often times yield a superior essential oil by producing a
completely pure essential oil (unlike an absolute or solvent extracted essential oil, which
sometimes has a small amount of solvent remaining in the final oil), and by producing an
essential oil that has not been altered by high heat (as steam distillation will do).

An important point regarding steam distillation of essential oils is that the temperature
involved in the process changes the molecular composition of the plant matter. In general,
the best essential oils are obtained using lower temperatures. However, in practice most
essential oils are obtained by distillation with very high temperatures, due to economics: if
one distills essential oils using low heat, then more time, more water and more energy is
required.

The use of high temperatures in the distillation process changes the molecular composition of
the essential oil. An excellent case in point is that of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita).
In the distillation of German chamomile, the matricarin (the chemical in the plant that
functions as an excellent anti-inflammatory) changes to chamazulene under high
temperatures. Thus, after the traditional distillation process of German Chamomile, some of
the anti-inflammatory properties of the plant have been lost. The blue color of German
chamomile oil is evidence of this chemical change.

There are many positive aspects of the supercritical CO2 extraction process and the resultant
supercritical CO2 essential oils. The CO2 supercritical extraction process eliminates the need
for potentially harmful solvents like hexane, avoiding unnecessary environmental pollution
and potential human bodily harm. Another very important consideration is that the
supercritical CO2 extraction process avoids heat degradation to the plant matter, producing
an essential oil that is a more authentic version of the original plant matter. Many medicinal
properties of the plant are thus kept intact in the oil, exemplified by the aforementioned
German chamomile extract. Another positive aspect to the CO2 distillation process is the
aroma of the essential oil. The CO2 supercritical extract offers a more genuine aroma of the
actual herb, spice or plant. The aroma of the CO2 extracts of ginger, cardamom and other
spices are more active, spirited and warm in nature than the rather flat and lifeless aroma of
the same plants that have been steam distilled.

Finally, many people are concerned with the higher unit for unit price of the CO2 extracted
essential oil. Although the supercritical extracts often cost more initially, they are typically
more concentrated and thus less of these oils is needed in the production of formulas.
Because you can generally use less of the CO2 essential oil than the hydro or steam distilled
oil, the higher price is sometimes offset.

At Eden Botanicals, we recognize and respect the many considerations involved in the
selection of essential oils. While we consider many of the CO2 extracts to be superior to
steamed distilled essential oils, we do not believe this is always the case. For instance we
love the spice oils derived using CO2 technology, and believe that they are hands-down
superior to steam distilled spice oils. This is not necessarily the case with all essential oils
however. If you compare patchouli essential oils derived from CO2 and steam distillation,
you will find quite different oils, with very different aroma profiles. In these cases, some
people will prefer the more earthy, woody patchouli derived from steam distillation to the
fresher, greener aroma of the patchouli CO2 extract. For patchouli it comes down to personal
preference, and we do not feel one is better than the other.In order to offer you the greatest
variety and the best quality of essential oils, we carry many of the CO2 supercritical extracts
in addition to the traditional essential oils. In some cases, we only offer the CO2 extract due
to its far superior quality.
 

What Is Supercritical CO2?

Carbon dioxide is in its supercritical fluid state when both the

temperature and pressure equal or exceed the critical point of 31°C
and 73 atm (see diagram). In its supercritical state, CO2 has both
gas-like and liquid-like qualities, and it is this dual characteristic of
supercritical fluids that provides the ideal conditions for extracting
compounds with a high degree of recovery in a short period of time.

CO2 Phase Diagram

By controlling or regulating pressure and temperature, the density, or

solvent strength, of supercritical fluids can be altered to simulate
organic solvents ranging from chloroform to methylene chloride to
hexane. This dissolving power can be applied to purify, extract,
fractionate, infuse, and recrystallize a wide array of materials.

Because CO2 is non-polar, a polar organic co-solvent (or modifier) can

be added to the supercritical fluid for processing polar compounds. By
controlling the level of pressure/temperature/modifier, supercritical
CO2 can dissolve a broad range of compounds, both polar and non-
polar.

What are Supercritical Fluids (SCF) ?

 A supercritical fluid is a medium in a state at a
pressure and a temperature above the critical
point (above critical pressure and critical
temperature).
The critical point defines the end of the
existence of a phase equilibrium between a
boiling liquid and a saturated vapour (end of
boiling curve). Above this end point a
differentiation between liquid and vapour is
impossible; the temperature and the pressure
defining the critical point are named critical
temperature and critical pressure and are
characterised by component specific values.
Are temperature and pressure above the
critical point (p>pk; T>Tk) the state is called
supercritical.

What are the Properties of Supercritical Fluids ?

Supercritical fluids combine properties of liquids (high solubility, high density)
and gases (low viscosity). This combination of advantageous properties brings the
benefits of the broad field of process applications.

Medium Density Viscosity Self-diffusion coefficient

ρ [g/cm3] η [mPas] D11 [m2/s]

Gases 0,6*10-3 - 2*10-3 1*10-4 - 5*10-5 1*10-5 - 4*10-5

Supercritical fluids 0,2 - 1,0 1*10-4 - 5*10-5 2*10-8 - 7*10-8

Liquids 0,6 - 1,8 1 - 50 2*10-10 - 2*10-9

From the process point of view a supercritical fluid is the ideal solvent. Thus supercritical fluids are the
perfect alternative to substitute traditional organic solvents e.g. methanol, n-hexane, dichloromethane, etc..
In contrary to many of the widely used conventional solvents most supercritical fluids are non-toxic and
can be easily and completely removed from the dissolved substances.

Advantages of supercritical fluids

 Low viscosity at relatively high density
 High solubility and high mass transfer capability
 Mostly non-toxic
 High selectivity
 Residue-free removal of solvent from the extract and raffinate
 Almost complete recuperation of solvent possible

Since many substances reach their supercritical state at higher pressures the mentioned advantages
require special process diligence as well as smart equipment solutions.

Supercritical Fluids
The use of substances in their supercritical state allow for applying solvents which were not used under
ambient conditions before. For most supercritical processes CO2 has proven as most suitable. The
relatively low critical temperature (31 °C) and the cheap and abundant availability make CO 2 particularly
attractive for supercritical processing.
 Further Advantages of supercritical CO2
 Gentle treatment of temperature-sensitive substances (e.g. natural substances)
 Products are obtained solvent-free
 Simple recovery of solvent
 Dissolving characteristics can be widely varied by alteration of pressure and temperature
 Selective separation possible
 Low-energy solvent recovery due to lower evaporation temperature than conventional solvents
 High-purity products
 Germicidal processing
 Physiologically harmless solvent
 Non-inflammable solvent

For special processes also different supercritical fluids than CO 2 have been in use e.g. laughing gas (N2O),
Xenon (Xe) or Propane (C3H8)
(see table below). Uhde designed and built plants for a
variety of supercritical fluids. Substances not used so far can be studied in lab scale
and thus suitable processes can be developed.

Fluid Critical temperature Critical pressure Notes

TC [°C] PC [bar]

Carbon dioxide, CO2 31,1 73,8  

Dinitrogen monoxide, N2O 36,6 74,0 unstable

Xenon, Xe 16,8 58,0 very expensive

Ethane, C2H6 32,4 48,8 inflammable, *

Ethylene, C2H4 9,4 50,4 inflammable; *

Propane, C3H8 36,8 42,5 inflammable; *

Water, H2O 374,1 220,5 high temperature, corrosive

* Inflammable and undesirable fluid residues in extract and raffinate