Optimization of Supercritical CO₂-Assisted Atomization: Phase Behavior and Design of Experiments

The use of supercritical fluid technology applied to the production of particles by atomization is an area of increasing interest. A wide variety of supercritical atomization techniques have been described in the literature. They have something in common: the importance of phase behavior governing the scCO₂-assisted processes. This minireview intends to provide a critical overview of the supercritical CO₂-assisted atomization process (SAA), the different systems already reported in the literature, and discuss the importance of phase equilibria and other parameters in the process optimization and hence in the final properties of the engineered particles.