The use of supercritical fluids (SCF) enables the development of clean and generally compact processes. Among the various applications of SCFs, supercritical CO2 (SC CO2) extraction has been widely studied and used in industry for some thirty years. Compared with techniques using conventional extraction solvents, the use of CO2 SC offers a number of advantages. It is a clean compound, whose solvent properties can be easily modulated by variations in temperature and/or pressure. It simplifies the extraction process, as it separates spontaneously from the extracted substances by simple depressurization.

 

Researchers in the M2P2 laboratory are developing processes using FSCs, and have been working in particular on supercritical extraction from dry biomass for some fifteen years. Applications range from the extraction of essential plant oils to the extraction of compounds of interest from microalgae. M2P2 has taken part in several collaborative projects linked to the valorization of compounds derived from microalgae (ANR SHAMASH project, FUI Salinalgue project, collaborative project with PSA Peugeot Citroen and EADS, BIOCARB project).

In addition to experimental studies at various scales, M2P2 has proven experience in supercritical extraction modeling, applied in particular to the extraction of neutral lipids from microalgae.