A booster system for increasing pressure of an object gas includes: a first compression unit that compresses the object gas to intermediate pressure equal to or higher than the critical pressure and lower than the target pressure and generates an intermediate supercritical fluid; a cooling unit that cools the intermediate supercritical fluid with a cooling medium and generates an intermediate supercritical pressure liquid; a liquid extracting and pressure reducing unit that extracts a part of the intermediate supercritical pressure liquid; a flow regulating valve that regulates a flow rate of the extracted part of the intermediate supercritical pressure liquid; a second compression unit that increases pressure of the rest of the intermediate supercritical pressure liquid to be equal to or higher than the target pressure; and a pressure sensor that detects pressure of the intermediate supercritical pressure liquid.

A cyclone separator for a superfluid extraction apparatus comprising a cyclone inlet weldment comprising a cyclone, a collector tube connected to the cyclone inlet weldment, and a needle support manifold extending from the cyclone inlet weldment comprising a fluid flow directing needle, the needle having a relief cut to control fluid flow into the separator. A supercritical fluid pump is described having a piston assembly with a hydraulic cylinder and a cylindrical integral check valve piston with at least two circumferential seals to seal the piston against the barrel insert and a check assembly extending axially through one end of the integral check valve piston and between the at least two circumferential seals to relieve excess pressure.

An installation for supplying a user station with pure or substantially pure liquid CO.sub.2 at high pressure, preferably in the range 50-60 bar, from a liquid CO.sub.2 source, the installation comprising means for compressing the liquid CO.sub.2 that are positioned between the source and the user station, wherein a liquefier for the fluid flowing between the source and the compression means is positioned at the inlet of the compression means.

A cyclone separator for a superfluid extraction apparatus comprising a cyclone inlet weldment comprising a cyclone, a collector tube connected to the cyclone inlet weldment, and a needle support manifold extending from the cyclone inlet weldment comprising a fluid flow directing needle, the needle having a relief cut to control fluid flow into the separator. A supercritical fluid pump is described having a piston assembly with a hydraulic cylinder and a cylindrical integral check valve piston with at least two circumferential seals to seal the piston against the barrel insert and a check assembly extending axially through one end of the integral check valve piston and between the at least two circumferential seals to relieve excess pressure.

Provided is a supercritical fluid chromatography method, system, and components comprising such a system wherein a non-polar solvent may replace a portion or all of a polar solvent for the purpose of separating or extracting desired sample molecules from a combined sample/solvent stream. The method and system are designed to eliminate or reduce the amount of polar solvent necessary for chromatographic separation and/or extraction of desired samples to less than or equal to twenty percent polar solvent within the total volume concentration of the total solvents used, and the technique may include one or more of a supercritical fluid chiller, a supercritical fluid pressure-equalizing vessel, and a supercritical fluid cyclonic separator. The supercritical fluid chiller and the use of the chiller allow efficient and consistent pumping of liquid-phase gases employing off-the-shelf HPLC pumps in the supercritical chromatography system using liquid-phase gas mobile phase. The pressure equalizing vessel allows the use of off the shelf HPLC column cartridges in the supercritical chromatography system. The cyclonic separator efficiently and effectively allows for separation of sample molecules from a liquid phase or gas phase stream of a supercritical fluid. The technique may further incorporate the use of one or more disposable cartridges containing silica gel or other suitable medium for use as a chromatographic separation column. The technique may also utilize an open loop cooling circuit using fluids with a positive Joule-Thompson coefficient.

In order to make a refrigerant compressor unit as light and compact as possible so that it can be used as a transcritical CO2 compressor, it is proposed that the cylinder head is manufactured from a cast material comprising iron and that the housing sleeve, the compressor housing portion and a cylinder housing block, which accommodates the cylinders, as well as the motor housing portion form a single-piece part, in particular made of lightweight material.

A seal assembly for pressurized fluid applications, including supercritical fluid chromatography applications, includes an annular body and a helical wound flat spring. A bore extends through the annular body. The annular body has an outer lip and an inner lip opposed to and spaced apart from each other. The inner lip, outer lip and an overhanging lip portion of the outer lip define a pocket in which the helical wound flat spring is disposed. A load line of the helical wound flat spring is directed substantially along a direction of separation between the inner and outer lips to bias apart the lips. Embodiments of the seal assembly have an improved distribution of contact pressure between the inside diameter of the seal assembly and the plunger with which the inside diameter seals, and between the outside diameter of the seal assembly and a gland surface with which the outside diameter seals.