Abstract
In this chapter, a number of interesting applications of high-pressure technology in the process and chemical industries are presented in detail. The chapter discusses reactions at high pressure (chemical and biochemical, hydrogenations, polymerizations, and oxidation with supercritical water), extraction with dense CO 2 , processing polymers under pressure, and precipitation and micronization techniques by supercritical fluids. The potential of dense gases in the production of pharmaceuticals, the action of high pressure on living organisms, and the dry-cleaning by supercritical CO 2 are described in the chapter. With the examples reported in the chapter, it should be evident that the use of high pressure in the process and chemical industry can be profitably extended not only from the economical but also from the environmental point of view. High temperature and supercritical H 2 O have greatly enhanced acidity (and basicity) compared to room-temperature water, because the dissociation constant increases as water is heated towards the critical point.
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