A carbon dioxide recovery apparatus and process for supercritical extraction
includes
providing a process stream from a supercritical extraction procedure in which the
process stream includes pressurized carbon dioxide, extraction process waste and
optionally at least one co-solvent; reducing the pressure of the process stream
below critical pressure; venting low pressure carbon dioxide vapor to exhaust;
cooling the process stream to form a two phase mixture; separating the two phase
mixture into a process liquid, containing co-solvent if present, and a process
vapor phase stream; collecting the process liquid; filtering the process vapor
phase stream to remove particulates and optionally residual co-solvent; passing
the filtered process vapor stream through an adsorber to remove trace impurities
to form a purified carbon dioxide vapor stream; and, drying the purified carbon
dioxide vapor stream to remove residual water vapor.