CO2 Technology Platform: An Important Tool for Environmental Problem Solving

✍ Scribed by Sharon L. Wells; Joseph DeSimone

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 231 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0044-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/1521-3773(20010202)40:3<518::aid-anie518>3.0.co;2-4

✦ Synopsis

CO 2 is a good solvent for many substances when compressed into its liquid or supercritical fluid state. Above the critical temperature and critical pressure (T c 31 8C, P c 73.8 bar, see Figure for the phase diagram for CO 2 ), CO 2 has both gaslike viscosities and liquidlike densities. These moderate critical conditions allow CO 2 to be used within safe commercial and laboratory operating conditions. Small changes in temperature and pressure cause dramatic changes in the density, viscosity, and dielectric properties of CO 2 , making it a tunable solvent that can be tailored for various applica-tions. Combined, these unique properties make CO 2 a ªsolvent of choiceº for the new millennium.