Patent ID: 6766810
Filing Date: 2004-07-27
Classification: B01D,B08B,Y10T

Abstract:
An apparatus for controlling the pressure in a supercritical processing system, the apparatus comprising:a pressure monitor configured to measure the pressure in the supercritical fluid processing system; a volume adjusting mechanism configured to variably change the volume of the supercritical processing system, wherein the volume adjusting mechanism comprises: a vessel in fluid communication with the supercritical fluid processing system, the total volume of the supercritical processing system comprising the volume of said vessel; a piston contained within said vessel, said piston capable of a bi-directional movement within said vessel; and a driver for providing the bi-directional movement to the piston, wherein said bi-directional movement of the piston causes either an increase or a decrease in the volume of the vessel, thereby causing a corresponding increase or decrease in the total volume of the supercritical processing system; and a controller configured to receive pressure information from the pressure monitor and deliver instructions to the volume adjusting mechanism, based on comparison of the pressure information with a pre-defined pressure.