Patent ID: 7189350

Claim:
A method of sterilizing objects utilizing a supercritical fluid, comprising the steps of: (1) connecting a pressure cleaning vessel and a vacuum chamber to each other by way of at least one connecting pipe carrying said supercritical fluid; (2) impregnating the objects to be sterilized, for a given period, in said supercritical fluid with which said pressure cleaning vessel has been filled; and (3) thereafter opening the connection between said pressure cleaning vessel and said vacuum chamber so as to generate sudden bubbling within said vessel as a result of a pressure difference; wherein thorough sterilization is achieved when said supercritical fluid having penetrated into bacteria and viruses explodes and destroys these organisms instantly by its power of vaporization and expansion; and wherein finish cleaning work is also achieved at the same time by the cleaning action of said supercritical fluid.