Development of Reactive Separation Technologies Utilizing the Synergy of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Sub critical Water

摘要

To minimize environmental impact of using organic solvents in various industrial, pharmaceutical and food processes, development of green technologies based on two environmentally benign and regarded as safe solvents (i. e. water and carbon dioxide) is currently gaining global popularity. Development of industrial processes based on carbon dioxide (CO_2) including its conversion into useful chemicals and fuels could also help mitigate global warming. This report focuses on the development of combined reaction and separation processes using the synergy of CO_2 and H_2O under high temperature and high pressure conditions. This method employs the idea that the formation and dissociation of carbonic acid from the reaction of CO_2 and H_2O, especially at elevated temperatures and pressures serves as a catalyst for the reaction, thereby, enhancing hydrolysis rate. By simply passing supercritical CO_2 through the reacting mixture, separation of the products is possible, thus further enhancing the yield. The physicochemical properties of these two solvents and their combination, and its application to hydrolysis of natural compound for removal of sugar moieties as an example are discussed.