Extraction and particulation of food related materials using sub- and supercritical fluids

Abstract

Supercritical fluids have been applied for food related material processing including decaffeination of coffee and hop extraction for beer production. Fundamental properties of sub- and supercritical fluids are briefly explained in this article. Solubility of solutes in supercritical fluids is the most important property in separation process. Extraction process using supercritical carbon dioxide from solid feed material is reviewed. Fractionation of liquid mixture is also important area for food industry such as separation of lipids and essential oils. Recently, subcritical water is applied for extraction process for natural materials. Hybrid extraction process of supercritical carbon dioxide and liquid water was proposed for simultaneous extraction of polar and nonpolar components and successfully applied food related materials. Supercritical carbon dioxide has been applied for fine particle production of natural materials such as carotenoids. In situ micronization of subcritical water extracts was also explained.