Patent ID: 7562663

Claim:
A high-pressure processing apparatus for subjecting a surface of a process subject to a predetermined surface treatment by allowing a process fluid comprising a high-pressure fluid or a mixture of the high-pressure fluid and a chemical agent to contact the surface of said process subject, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of pressure vessels each including a processing chamber defined therein for performing said surface treatment; a plurality of mixing sections, each mixing section supplying the process fluid under pressure to one of said pressure vessels; a high-pressure fluid supply unit pumping a first fluid under pressure into said plurality of mixing sections; a plurality of common tanks individually storing therein a respective one of plural chemical agents; and a plurality of chemical-agent supply units, each chemical-agent supply unit corresponding to one of the plural mixing sections and preparing a chemical formulation for the corresponding mixing section by blending all or selected one(s) of said plural chemical agents supplied from said plural common tanks and pumping the chemical formulation under pressure into the corresponding mixing section, wherein the first fluid pumped from said high-pressure fluid supply unit and the chemical formulation pumped from each chemical-agent supply unit are mixed within the corresponding mixing section prior to being supplied to one of the processing chambers as the process fluid; wherein said apparatus further comprises a high-pressure region and a normal pressure region, a pressure being lower in the normal pressure region than in the high-pressure region, wherein said plurality of pressure vessels and said plurality of mixing sections are positioned in the high-pressure region, wherein each of said plural chemical-agent supply units further comprises: blending means for blending the chemical agents, the blending means being positioned in the normal pressure region; a plurality of flow-rate control means each provided corresponding to a respective one of said plural common tanks; and pumping means which is disposed between said blending means and said corresponding mixing section and pumps said chemical formulation blended by said blending means toward said corresponding mixing section, and wherein each of said plural chemical-agent supply units adjusts blending proportions of the individual chemical agents in said chemical formulation by way of said plural flow-rate control means individually controlling the respective flow rates of said plural chemical agents supplied to said blending means.