Aerogel drying
with supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂)

Why is aerogel the best insulating material ?

Aerogel, known as the world’s lightest material, consists mainly of gas (around 90%) and a porous solid (around 10%) such as silica or carbon. Aerogel is often called “solid smoke” or “smoke gel” because of its transparency, lightness and smoke-like appearance. Silica-based aerogel is particularly prized for its unique properties.

Thanks to its versatility, aerogel has a wide range of applications. Not only is it used on a laboratory scale, but it has also found its way into industrial applications such as construction (solutions to thermal bridge problems, thermal insulation of ultra-thin facades, interior insulation) or aerospace and high-tech.

What about supercritical CO₂ for aerogel production?

The use of supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) in aerogel production is a method employed for drying these materials. This process, often applied to aerogels made from organic compounds dissolved in solvents such as ethanol or acetone, extracts these solvents and produces a solid, pure material. Due to its low viscosity, scCO₂ easily penetrates the pores of the aerogel, resulting in a highly porous material.

The advantages of sCO₂
for aerogel drying

Supercritical CO₂ drying offers several advantages over conventional methods.

Preserve the delicate, fine porous structure of aerogels

Unlike traditional methods, which can cause destructive capillary forces as the solvent evaporates, supercritical drying avoids these constraints, thus preserving the structural integrity of the material.
What’s more, scCO2 has no surface tension, which reduces the risk of cracks or structural collapse during drying.

Efficient removal of organic solvent residues

This results in purer, higher-performance aerogels

A fast
and scalable process

What’s more, the scCO₂ drying process is generally faster than conventional techniques, optimizing production time and improving efficiency.

Our supercritical CO₂ extraction equipment

To extract with CO₂ extraction in the food industry, we have two ranges of standard equipment to suit your needs: the SFE Prod range and the SFE Lab range, all based on CO₂ technology for the food industry. If you want to go further than extraction and want to purify your extract, we have a range of chromatography equipment, ideal for purifying food extracts with CO₂.

Laboratory scale

SFE LAB

Standard range from 100ml to 2L

Discover the range

Production scale

SFE PROD

Standard range from 2x5L to 2x100L

Discover the range

All our machines can be prepared for GMP, 21 CFR Part 11 certification, to guarantee environmentally-friendly extraction processes in foodstuffs that comply with the most stringent standards.

Our R&D center for aerogel drying

SFE Process has a research and development laboratory to carry out your feasibility studies and develop innovations in aerogel production. Would you like to carry out trials before launching into ultra-light aerogel production? Our laboratory is equipped with several pilots to offer you a quality service and full support to scale-up from laboratory to pilot scale, producing your first batches of high-porosity aerogel.