4. Advantages and disadvantages

4.1 Benefits

Dense CO ₂ under pressure has very low surface tension and excellent wettability, making it very interesting for cleaning tortuous parts or parts with complex geometries, blind holes or multi-component assemblies. It has a critical temperature close to room temperature, which is an advantage when treating thermosensitive substrates such as certain polymers. Its low viscosity implies high Reynolds numbers during flow, which is positive for particle removal.

Its density, comparable to that of a liquid, makes it a good solvent for many low-molecular-weight organic and fluorinated compounds. Co-solvents, such as alcohols, surfactants (anionic, cationic and non-ionic), dispersants, and chelating compounds...