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US 5,237,824 AGranted
Apparatus and method for delivering supercritical fluid
OwnerJanusz B. Pawliszyninventor
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OwnerJanusz B. Pawliszyninventor
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for delivering supercritical fluids uses one or two high pressure vessels. Each vessel is cooled below the critical temperature of the fluid while the vessel is being filled. The inlet is then closed and the vessel is heated to attain a predetermined pressure. The outlet of the vessel is then opened and supercritical fluid flows from the vessel for use in various processes such as extraction or chromatography. As the fluid flows from the high pressure vessel, the pressure is controlled by adjusting the temperature of the high pressure vessel. Usually, the temperature of the vessel will be increased as the supercritical fluid exits from the vessel. When two high pressure vessels are used, the vessels can be refilled on an alternating basis so that a continuous supply of supercritical fluid can be made available as long as it is required. The high pressure vessels can be two pieces of stainless steel tubing. The system is essentially maintenance free as there are virtually no moving parts. With previous delivery systems for high pressure fluids, high pressure pumps are used. These pumps are relatively expensive and can be subject to problems such as noise and leakage.
A process for delivering supercritical fluid for various uses has a first high pressure vessel with means to cool and means to heat said vessel, said vessel having an inlet and outlet with control means to control the flow of fluid through said inlet and through said outlet, said inlet being connected to a pressurized fluid source, said process being characterized by lowering the temperature of said vessel below the critical temperature of the fluid while opening the inlet to fill the vessel with the fluid, closing the inlet, heating the vessel while monitoring the temperature and pressure to greatly increase the pressure until a desired pressure is attained, opening the outlet to deliver supercritical fluid from the vessel while continuously adjusting the temperature during delivery of the fluid to control the pressure as desired.
An apparatus for continuously delivering supercritical fluid, said apparatus being characterized by two high pressure vessels, each vessel having an inlet and an outlet, said vessels being connected in parallel, said inlets of each vessel being connected to a pressurized fluid source, there being means to cool and means to heat each vessel, with control means to cool, heat, fill and empty the two vessels independently.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.