SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS: Near Critical Region Processes Examined.

By examining adsorption processes of carbon dioxide in the near- critical region, researchers at Ohio State University (OSU, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 140 W. 19th Ave., Room 125, Koffolt Labs, Columbus, OH 43210; Tel: 614/292-4249) hope to control the operating conditions of benign solvents and make the supercritical fluid a more economical alternative in adsorptive separations, extractions and chromatography.

David L. Tomasko and colleagues in the chemical engineering department at OSU are examining the adsorption of carbon dioxide on two microporous adsorbents. A granular-activated carbon and a NaY zeolite were used to extract two isomers of dimethylnaphthalene …