The short version
Supercritical CO2 gives a crude with no residual solvent and no purge step, which matters most for food, flavour and cosmetic ingredients. Cold ethanol at -75°C handles higher daily biomass volumes and delivers a lighter crude that needs less refining, at the cost of a solvent recovery step. The right answer depends on the finished product and the daily volume, not on which technology is newer.
Side by side
| Supercritical CO2 | Cold ethanol at -75°C | |
|---|---|---|
| Solvent in the finished extract | None. CO2 leaves as a gas in the separator | Ethanol has to be recovered and purged |
| Typical operating window | Up to 50MPa, ambient to 85°C | Around -75°C at atmospheric pressure |
| Wax and chlorophyll load | Waxes are pulled at higher pressures | Much of the wax and chlorophyll stays in the biomass |
| Solvent consumption | CO2 is used in circulation | Ethanol is recovered and reused |
| Throughput per day | Batch driven by kettle volume | Suited to higher biomass volumes |
| Контроль за разрывом | Two separators allow fractions to be taken separately | Fractionation happens downstream in distillation |
| Best fit | Food, flavour, cosmetic and solvent-free specifications | High volume hemp and botanical processing |
Questions that actually decide it
- Does your finished product have to be declared solvent free? If yes, CO2 answers the question on its own.
- How much biomass per day, not per batch? Volume pushes the decision towards cold ethanol.
- How much refining capacity do you already have? A lighter crude reduces the load on winterization and distillation.
- What are the constraints of your building? Flammable solvent handling has implications for the room that CO2 does not.
You do not have to choose blind
An extraction test can be run on your raw material before any equipment is sized, and the videos and pictures of the trial are sent to you. Two pieces of information start that conversation: the raw material, and the production capacity you need per batch.
