Supercritical drying

In a typical phase diagram, the boundary between gas and liquid runs from the triple point to the critical point.
Supercritical drying (red arrow) goes beyond the critical point of the working fluid in order to avoid the direct liquid–gas transition seen in ordinary drying (green arrow) or the two phase changes in freeze-drying (blue arrow).

Supercritical drying, also known as critical point drying, is a process to remove liquid in a precise and controlled way.[1] It is useful in the production of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the drying of spices, the production of aerogel, the decaffeination of coffee and in the preparation of biological specimens.[2]

  1. ^ Evangelos Tsotsas; Arun S. Mujumdar (29 August 2011). Modern Drying Technology, Volume 3: Product Quality and Formulation. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-3-527-31558-1.
  2. ^ Grahame Lawes (1987). Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-8-126-5-17305.