Apparatus and method for supercritical fluid extraction
First Claim
1. Apparatus for supercritical fluid extraction, comprising:
- means for performing supercritical fluid extraction;
collection means for collecting analyte;
said collection means being in contact with said means for performing supercritical fluid extraction;
said collection means including means for storing a plurality of collection vials and for moving at least one collecting vial from said plurality of collection vials into position to receive analyte and means for controlling the temperature of the at least one collection vial;
said means for controlling the temperature including an aluminum block in contact with the at least one collection vial;
said aluminum block being pivotable and slidable with respect to the at least one collection vial; and
said block incorporating at least one of CO2 cooling and electric heating means.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
To supply supercritical fluid to an automatic supercritical fluid extractor and collect extract from the extractor, sample holding cartridges are lifted one by one in series by an elevator plug into a pressure chamber. An inlet at the top of the cartridge engages a pressure vessel inlet for the extractant so that extractant flows into the cartridge and into the space between the cartridge and inner walls of the pressure chamber. The outlets from the cartridge and pressure vessel communicate with the collector and exhaust through passageways in the plug. The plug has cleaning ports for cleaning seals and the outlet from the cartridge flows past the seals. The collector lifts vials into place and can precool the collection solvent, and later as part of the collection procedure, heat and pressurize the collector.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. Apparatus for supercritical fluid extraction, comprising:
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means for performing supercritical fluid extraction; collection means for collecting analyte; said collection means being in contact with said means for performing supercritical fluid extraction; said collection means including means for storing a plurality of collection vials and for moving at least one collecting vial from said plurality of collection vials into position to receive analyte and means for controlling the temperature of the at least one collection vial; said means for controlling the temperature including an aluminum block in contact with the at least one collection vial; said aluminum block being pivotable and slidable with respect to the at least one collection vial; and said block incorporating at least one of CO2 cooling and electric heating means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of supercritical fluid extraction, comprising the steps of:
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performing supercritical fluid extraction; the step of performing supercritical fluid extraction including the substeps of collecting analyte in an at least one collection vial of a plurality of collection vials stored in a collection means; said at least one vial being pressurized to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure; moving the at least one collection vial into position to receive analyte; and controlling the temperature of the at least one collection vial. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification