Multicriteria Optimization of Turbulence Intensity in Supercritical CO2 Extraction: Coupled Numerical Analysis and Experimental Validation

Abstract

The thermal behavior of supercritical CO₂ within high-pressure extractors plays a pivotal role in preserving temperature-sensitive bioactive compounds during extraction. However, the effects of turbulence intensity (TI) on local heat transfer dynamics, fluid stability, and extraction efficiency remain poorly quantified. This study presents an integrated computational and experimental framework to systematically evaluate the impact of TI (2–20%) on wall temperature uniformity, pressure distribution, CO₂ density fluctuations, and the extraction yield of bioactive compounds. A validated CFD model was developed and experimentally supported through high-resolution infrared thermography and GC-FID/GC-MS analysis, with a maximum deviation below 0.96 °C. Multicriteria decision-making combining Shannon entropy weighting and TOPSIS analysis revealed that a 4% turbulence intensity offered the most thermodynamically stable configure ratio and the highest Linalool yield (74.05  ±  2.47%). These findings deepen the understanding of turbulence-heat-compound coupling in supercritical systems and offer a scalable methodology for optimizing extraction conditions in pharmaceutical and food applications.