Advances in Environmental

摘要

Analytical-scale supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is undergoing a transition from laboratories dedicated to innovative research to those conducting routine method development as well as analysis of real samples. Although researchers who have been working in the field for nearly a decade might view the adoption of analytical supercritical technology as slow, in reality it has been quite rapid. The prospect of decreased analysis and operator time via automation, together with lower waste generation and disposal costs, has driven academic, regulatory, government, and industrial laboratories to bring SFE to the forefront of available techniques. Because of these advantages and the anticipated high return on investment, manufacturers have moved quickly to develop commercial instruments for SFE. Movement to multiple sample and multiple extraction apparatus occurred in less than five years, possibly because SFE is one of the few sample preparation technologies that can be automated. Indeed, ease of use is one of the factors that has fueled widespread interest in the applicability of the technique to fields as diverse as pharmaceutical, polymer, food, and environmental science.