CO2 Extraction Plants

A CO2 extraction plant uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent-free extraction medium under high pressure, rather than steam/hydro distillation (used for essential oils) or food-grade organic solvents (used for oleoresins). It is a distinct process and equipment train from both. If you need the steam-distilled essential oil or the solvent oleoresin instead, see our essential oil distillation plants or spices oleoresin extraction plants.

It is an extraction method that uses carbon dioxide held above its critical point (about 31°C and 7.4 MPa). In this supercritical state CO2 flows through a botanical bed like a gas but dissolves compounds like a liquid, then leaves no residue when the pressure is released — producing a clean, high-purity extract. See our Supercritical CO2 (SCFE) Extraction Plant page for full technical detail.

CO2 extraction is solvent-free and residue-free, runs at low temperature to protect heat-sensitive actives and aromas, and its selectivity can be tuned by pressure and temperature. That makes it well suited to premium food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and fragrance ingredients where purity and quality are critical.