Sclareol purification using the supercritical fractionation process: A modeling case study

International audienceThe aim of this study was to model experimental results obtained for the supercritical CO2 fractionation of a liquid mixture containing 24% of sclareol in order to recover a raffinate with increased sclareol content. First, supercritical CO2 fractionation experiments were carried out at pressures (10-12) MPa, and temperatures (313-338) K. Secondly, the modeling of the raffinate and extract compositions for 12 selected compounds including sclareol was performed using the group method. The modeling was carried out at a temperature of 323 K and pressures of (10-11) MPa, and at a temperature of 338 K and a pressure of 12 MPa. The calculation of the raffinate and extract compositions required the adjustment of the number of theoretical stages and of the distribution coefficients for the selected compounds. Experimental raffinate and extract compositions were represented by the model with a relative error of about 15%