Supercritical Fluid Technology

A number of research projects dealing with supercritical fluid technology applied to various chemical processes of industrial significance have been carried out. The chemical processes and unit operations of interest include low temperature polymer processing, polymerization in a supercritical fluid medium, copolymerization, infusion of both inorganic and organic ingredients, elastomerization, foaming, encapsulation, diffusive drying, catalyst defouling, pre-conditioning of porous media. selective VOC removal, selective and destructive extraction, solvent-free processing, redox reactions, supercritical water oxidation, extraction of biologically or medicinally active substances from plant matters, controlled partial oxidation, hazardous waste destruction, detoxification, debrining and desalination, and soil decontamination.

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Industrial and governmental sponsors include Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., BF Goodrich Co., PPG Industries, Kimberly-Clark, Zeon Chemicals, Dow Chemical, Korea PTG Co., Elf Atochem, Atofina, Arkema, Ohio Coal Development Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geon Co., Radian, DRS-TSI, U.S. Army, U.S. DOT, Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), NIH, Monsanto, and others. In June 1996, the State of Ohio awarded a major research funding of $1,647,000 for the Ohio Consortium for Supercritical Fluid Technology, for which Dr. Lee served as the Principal Investigator and Project Director. For 2004-2010, the U.S. Department of Defense sponsored Dr. Lee’s R&D with more than $4.7 million dollars for the development of novel supercritical water reformation technology and its fuel cell applications.

Specific technologies from the aforementioned list of supercritical fluid research expertise that are available for collaborative commercial development with ChemTech Innovators and its partnering organizations include, but not limited to:

Supercritical fluid technology is a versatile technology that can provide solutions for a variety of difficult problems in separation, reaction, polymerization, depolymerization, devulcanization, material processing, nanomaterial processing, blending, cleansing, leaching & extraction, drying, distillation, and crystallization. Our team has done pioneering work in many of these processes that are commercially exploited. Some of the work has been published in the open literature. A large number of U. S. and international patents have been awarded for several of these technologies. Some of the most difficult, if not impossible, processing methods using the conventional means may be rather easily handled in an environmentally friendly manner using a custom-designed supercritical fluid technology.