Role of Supercritical Fluids in Chemical Reactions

Abstract

Recently, a great deal of attention has been directed towards finding alternatives to traditional solvents. An attempt has been made in this paper to focus on supercritical fluids (SCF’s) as an alternative solvent system. The applications and advantages of these solvents are analyzed to determine whether or not SCF’s are a viable replacement to the traditional solvents. SCF’s are extremely versatile and have great environmental benefits relative to traditional organic solvents; however the use of these solvents is not widespread nor are they sufficiently developed to feasibly replace solvents used today. Regardless, SCF’s present an area into which certain solvent uses can be diverted in order to mitigate the environmental effects of the current situation while searching for a more practical replacement