7. What are the prospects?

This brief, non-exhaustive –– overview of supercritical fluid applications shows the extreme variety of industries involved.

First and foremost, the processing of natural products will continue to represent the most numerous industrial developments, driven by "consumerism" and regulations. In this field, despite the advantages outlined above and widely recognized, supercritical fluid technology has probably not yet developed to the extent we might have expected. In Europe, where the technology was first developed in 1970, growth in the number of installations appears to be relatively slow, and there is currently spare capacity available in converting companies. By contrast, growth is very rapid in Asia, and especially in China (80 new units in the last three years). Potential customers often consider that this technology leads to high prices and should be reserved...