Supercritical fluids are neither gas nor liquid, but can be compressed gradually from low to high density and they are therefore interesting and important as tunable solvents and reaction media in the chemical process industry. By adjusting the density the properties of these fluids can be customised and manipulated for a given process - physical or chemical transformation. Separation and processing using supercritical solvents such as CO2 are currently on-line commercially in the food, essential oils and polymer industries. Many agencies and industries are considering the use of supercritical water for waste remediation. Supercritical fluid chromatography represents another, major analytical application. Significant advances have recently been made in materials processing, ranging from particle formation to the creation of porous materials.

The chapters in this book provide tutorial accounts of topical areas centred around: (1) phase equilibria, thermodynamics and equations of state; (2) critical behaviour, crossover effects; (3) transport and interfacial properties; (4) molecular modelling, computer simulation; (5) reactions, spectroscopy; (6) phase separation kinetics; (7) extractions; (8) applications to polymers, pharmaceuticals, natural materials and chromatography; (9) process scale-up.

In this volume, we have collected a series of reviews that cover both experimental and theoretical work geared toward the more exact requirements of current SFE applications. While we have artificially divided the volume into experimental and theoretical sections, natural overlaps will be apparent. Many of the papers on experimental and theoretical sections, natural overlaps will be apparent. Many of the papers on experimental technique contain discussions on equation of state correlations. Indeed, a good deal of the experimental work is intimately tied to a mathematical description of fluid mixtures. The theoretical section presents reviews that cover the modern theory of critical phenomena, methods to correlate near critical experimental results and approaches to understanding the behavior of near critical fluids from microscopic theory. It is hoped that the scope of these reviews will provide the reader with the basis to further develop our understanding of the behavior of supercritical fluids.

In this volume, we have collected a series of reviews that cover both experimental and theoretical work geared toward the more exact requirements of current SFE applications. While we have artificially divided the volume into experimental and theoretical sections, natural overlaps will be apparent. Many of the papers on experimental and theoretical sections, natural overlaps will be apparent. Many of the papers on experimental technique contain discussions on equation of state correlations. Indeed, a good deal of the experimental work is intimately tied to a mathematical description of fluid mixtures. The theoretical section presents reviews that cover the modern theory of critical phenomena, methods to correlate near critical experimental results and approaches to understanding the behavior of near critical fluids from microscopic theory. It is hoped that the scope of these reviews will provide the reader with the basis to further develop our understanding of the behavior of supercritical fluids.

Supercritical fluids are neither gas nor liquid, but can be compressed gradually from low to high density and they are therefore interesting and important as tunable solvents and reaction media in the chemical process industry. By adjusting the density the properties of these fluids can be customised and manipulated for a given process - physical or chemical transformation. Separation and processing using supercritical solvents such as CO2 are currently on-line commercially in the food, essential oils and polymer industries. Many agencies and industries are considering the use of supercritical water for waste remediation. Supercritical fluid chromatography represents another, major analytical application. Significant advances have recently been made in materials processing, ranging from particle formation to the creation of porous materials.

The chapters in this book provide tutorial accounts of topical areas centred around: (1) phase equilibria, thermodynamics and equations of state; (2) critical behaviour, crossover effects; (3) transport and interfacial properties; (4) molecular modelling, computer simulation; (5) reactions, spectroscopy; (6) phase separation kinetics; (7) extractions; (8) applications to polymers, pharmaceuticals, natural materials and chromatography; (9) process scale-up.

"Metastable Liquids" provides a comprehensive treatment of the properties of liquids under conditions where the stable state is a vapor, a solid, or a liquid mixture of different composition. It examines the fundamental principles that govern the equilibrium properties, stability, relaxation mechanisms, and relaxation rates of metastable liquids. Building on the interplay of kinetics and thermodynamics that determines the thermophysical properties and structural relaxation of metastable liquids, it offers an in-depth treatment of thermodynamic stability theory, the statistical mechanics of metastability, nucleation, spinodal decomposition, supercooled liquids, and the glass transition.

Both traditional topics--such as stability theory--and modern developments--including modern theories of nucleation and the properties of supercooled and glassy water--are treated in detail. An introductory chapter illustrates, with numerous examples, the importance and ubiquity of metastable liquids. Examples include the ascent of sap in plants, the strategies adopted by many living organisms to survive prolonged exposure to sub-freezing conditions, the behavior of proteins at low temperatures, metastability in mineral inclusions, ozone depletion, the preservation and storage of labile biochemicals, and the prevention of natural gas clathrate hydrate formation. All mathematical symbols are defined in the text and key equations are clearly explained. More complex mathematical explanations are available in the appendixes.