POS Pilot Plant Offers Supercritical Fluid Extraction For Contract R&D
SASKATOON, CANADA. POS Pilot Plant Corporation will offer supercritical fluid extraction on a contract basis for process and product development by late summer of this year. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) has been used in the food industry since the early 1980's. Due to its benefits over conventional solvent extraction technology, it is now becoming the extraction method of choice for high value compounds in natural products industries such as nutraceuticals, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Supercritical fluid extraction uses carbon dioxide under high pressure to extract components. It is environmentally friendly, non-combustible, leaves no toxic or undesirable residues, and is more selective in the components extracted. This is good news at a time when consumer trends show enhanced concern for the quality and safety of food and medicines.
POS takes delivery of the Thar Technologies Inc. Model SFE 5000M F1 Supercritical Fluid Extraction System in May. The unit is completely integrated, PC-controlled and has the capability of operating in a co-solvent mode. It is expected to be ready for project work by mid to late summer.
Acquisition of the new equipment is part of POS's Mini-Pilot Plant Initiative aimed at providing clients with a wide range of intermediate capacity equipment for process and product development. "The 1 - 5 litre capacity of our SFE system makes it well suited for both large and small scale R&D projects," says Dr. Paul Fedec, POS Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, "especially when it is important to closely mimic industrial processing conditions."
"As well, when clients choose POS as their outsourcing partner, they can choose from a variety of additional services designed to increase their competitive edge", explains Dr. Fedec. "We have the infrastructure in place to fully exploit supercritical extraction technology for clients. That includes comprehensive integrated services for upstream and downstream processing, scale-up, analytical services, logistics and materials handling, and quality assurance – all in a cGMP-compliant environment."
POS Pilot Plant is a confidential contract R&D organization serving the bio-processing industries. It specializes in extraction, fractionation, purification and modification of bio-based materials. It is located in Saskatoon, Canada. www.pos.ca
Photo credit: Thar Technologies