REGENERATION METHODS FOR CAFFEINE-LOADED CO2

Supercritical gas extraction for the decaffeination of green coffee br ans has become an established method in the last decade. However, beca use of the commercial aspects in this field, few research results on a pplications have been published. In this publication, three different methods for the regeneration of caffeine-loaded CO2 are presented: dep ressurization, adsorption with activated carbon, and absorption with w ater. For all these methods, phase equilibrium experiments with pure c affeine were done. Furthermore, pilot-plant experiments were performed to decaffeinate green coffee beans.