Processes such as steam distillation or pressing are considered far too wasteful and inefficient. While other systems such as HFC extraction have been phased out by environmental legislation. Often the most time consuming aspect of extraction is the recovery of the solvent. With CO2 being a natural substance there is no risk of contamination or inefficiencies in recovery.
Advantages of CO2E include:
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Higher yields: The extraction process is more efficient than existing methods, providing a higher yield per kilogram, and less of the compounds that are not desired.
- Low production costs: Less expensive because of the economies of scale, a sophisticated mechanised process, low energy consumption, and low solvent costs.
- Superior quality: The product is of the highest quality with zero contamination
- Totally safe: CO2 is non-flammable, inert, non-explosive, non corrosive – as opposed to other solvents such as butane hexane or dichloromethane. The process is therefore extremely safe for operators and the end products are of exceptional quality.
- Non-toxic: The CO2 is captured and reused so there are no issues with emissions This can be compared to hexane which has been recognised as a cause of asthma and similar breathing disorders.
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The process is gentle on the product: The Extraction is undertaken at relatively low temperatures. Neither raw material nor product is exposed to acid hydrolysis or oxidative damage.
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Minimal solvents losses: The recycled CO2 incurs a minimal loss through the use of a series linked closed loop system. This in turn means that the operating cost of the solvents is very low.
- Solvents residues CO2 is a naturally occurring gas, a significant factor for the food industry which only allows about 7-10 ppm contamination with other chemical solvents
- Energy consumption is minimal and the equipment can be run using electricity with low wattage demand, in contrast to steam distillation, which often uses large quantities of fossil fuel and water.
- Totally safe: CO2 is non-flammable, inert, non-explosive, non corrosive – as opposed to other solvents such as butane hexane or dichloromethane. The process is therefore extremely safe for operators and the end products are of exceptional quality.
- No harmful waste: There is no liquid effluent to dispose of from the process. The plant waste retains its structure, is dry and can be composted and returned to the land, or fed to farm animals, if appropriate.
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The plant design is modular and scaleable, and can handle any capacity of biomass. The processing equipment can be skid mounted and transportable and can be co-located in the field as required.