6. Conclusion and future developments

Most of the processes described above have now reached maturity.

Like any kind of process, evolution over the years to come will focus on optimization and intensification aspects. In the case of supercritical techniques, the optimization/process integration and process intensification approaches can help reduce the energy consumption. Reducing the size of the units is a pathway we need to follow for some applications. Other advantages such as less space occupied by facilities, decreased production costs, and greater safety are also among the strengths of these methods. The development of modelling techniques allows tighter control of the processes in general, and of the intensification in particular. One of the scientific challenges will...