Supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SF-C02) with its moderate critical constants, nonflammable nature and low cost provides an attractive alternative for replacing organic solvents traditionally used in chemical manufacturing processes. Minimizing liquid waste generation, easy separation of solutes and fast reaction rates are some of the advantages of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology over conventional solvent extraction methods. The solvation strength of supercritical C02 can be tuned by changing the density of the fluid phase, thus selective extraction and dissolution of compounds may be achieved in SFE processes. Because C02 is not regulated by the US EPA as a volatile organic compound, C02-based SFE processes are environmentally acceptable. The CO2 used in SFE is produced by other industrial processes (e.g. fermentation processes), therefore the gas vented into the atmosphere from the SFE processes does not contribute to the "green house" effect.