Technology · Bioproduction & equipment / Downstream purification

Supercritical extraction systems

Extraction with a supercritical fluid, usually CO2, instead of hexane or steam distillation — over 150 industrial plants worldwide, with CO2 recognised as a safe solvent by the FDA and EFSA.

Maturity 9/9 Risk: low Bioprocess equipment Food ingredients US · EU verified 2026-10-16 · 5 Sources

1 · What it gives

Supercritical fluid extraction separates components by their different solubility in a supercritical fluid, in three stages: dissolution, sweeping of the analytes and trapping. It is a superior alternative to conventional solvent extraction (hexane, hydrofluorocarbons) and steam distillation, which are increasingly restricted. There are more than 150 plants worldwide with a total extraction vessel volume above 0.5 m³.

2 · What it replaces 6

D1	Process equipment for residue-to-product plants — anaerobic digesters and biogas upgrading, composting turners and granulation lines, biomass pelleting, pyrolysis and carbonization kilns — instead of incinerators, landfill, open lagoons and open burning Replaces: Landfill and open dumping of organic waste; open burning of crop residues; open anaerobic lagoons; incineration of wet organic waste	EAC
D1	Bio-based binders and bio-solvents instead of petrochemical resins and VOC solvent systems in paints and coatings Replaces: Petro-derived alkyd/acrylic binders; volatile organic solvent systems (white spirit, toluene, xylene) in solvent-borne paints; part of …	CHEM
D1	Biosurfactants (rhamnolipids, sophorolipids) instead of petrochemical surfactants in cleaning and industrial formulation Replaces: Petrochemical surfactants in cleaners and formulations - linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), alcohol ethoxylates (AEO), alkylphenol …	CHEM
D3	Odour, H₂S, ammonia and VOC emissions treated by biofilters, biotrickling filters and bioscrubbers instead of chemical scrubbers (caustic/hypochlorite/acid) and thermal oxidizers Replaces: Chemical scrubbers dosing sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid; regenerative/thermal oxidizers burning gas to destroy …	EAC
D3	Citric acid by Aspergillus niger fermentation instead of extraction from citrus fruit Replaces: Citric acid extracted from lemons, limes and other citrus (calcium citrate route, Italy and California before 1930)	FOOD
D1	Fermentation (stainless and single-use bioreactors, solid-state reactors) and downstream equipment (centrifuges, filtration, spray and fluid-bed drying, formulation) for local production of enzymes, microbial products and fermentation ingredients instead of chemical-synthesis plants and imports Replaces: Chemical-synthesis routes and imports for the products in FI-, FD-, I- and A-series articles (enzymes, organic acids, vitamins, microbial …	EAC

3 · How to implement 3 steps

1
Dissolve
Dissolve the target components in the supercritical fluid.
2
Sweep
Sweep the dissolved analytes out of the matrix.
3
Trap
Trap the analytes and recover the product.

4 · Who delivers

Matched suppliers (matched automatically)

Georem International	South Africa	Services / consulting	active
AKVA group	Norway	Services / consulting	active
MENA-Water	United Arab Emirates	Producer	active
Spans Envirotech Pvt. Ltd.	India	Services / consulting	active
Paul Mueller Company	United States	Equipment	active
BM GreenTech Berhad	Malaysia	Research / RTO	active
IETOS	Egypt	Services / consulting	active
Wetlands Construidos	Brazil	Services / consulting	active
EYS Makina	Turkey	Distributor	active
Praj Industries (NSE)	India	Services / consulting	active
Prometheus Materials	United States	Research / RTO	active
QINGDAO SEAWIN BIOTECH GROUP	China	Research / RTO	active

Leading companies and institutes (from the brief)

Industrial plant providers named in the sources: Uhde High Pressure Technologies, Separex, Thar Process and Natex Prozesstechnologie. Others are matched by the portal under Bioprocess equipment.

5 · Rules & route to market

Route into Russia / EAEU: EAC · EAEU accredited bodies / Rosakkreditatsiya
declaration registered within 3 working days (testing extra); certification longer
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)

United States

Supercritical CO2 is designated a safe extraction solvent by the US FDA.

European Union

Supercritical CO2 is designated a safe extraction solvent by EFSA.

China

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no China regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

6 · Money: tenders & grants

Grant	Empowering local urban food systems entrepreneurship and innovation European Commission · EU	Sep 23, 2027 342 days
Grant	Europe-wide environmental benchmarking system of the industrial bioeconomy sectors European Commission · EU	Sep 22, 2027 341 days
Grant	Fostering common farmland birds and mammals for resilient food production systems European Commission · EU	Sep 22, 2027 341 days
Grant	Open topic: Using the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative to strengthen urban manufacturing in support of … European Commission · EU	Apr 8, 2027 174 days
Grant	Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions European Commission · EU	Sep 23, 2027 342 days

7 · Tech stack & innovations

Main risk from the sources: high capital intensity because of high-pressure operation and precise process control.

Sources 5

Cnis.ac.cn — www.cnis.ac.cn 2026-10-16
Mdpi.com — www.mdpi.com 2026-10-16
Che.iitb.ac.in — www.che.iitb.ac.in 2026-10-16
Sciencedirect.com — www.sciencedirect.com 2026-10-16
Pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2026-10-16