5. Future developments

The applications of supercritical fluids seem potentially very numerous, even if industrial developments are still limited, mainly to the extraction of natural products. However, it seems to us that several sectors should see a bright future:

• in the medium term, the development of porous materials (aerogels, ceramics, foams, etc.) and/or divided materials (powders, fibrils, etc.);

• in the longer term, chemical and biochemical reactions in a supercritical medium, a new type of reaction solvent with "variable" properties.

But we must bear in mind that the use of supercritical fluids poses serious technical and economic problems, which in any case will limit industrial development to cases where they offer a significant "plus" in terms of product quality, environmental and consumer...