Water in contact with carbon dioxide becomes acidic due to the formation and dissociation of

carbonic acid:
CO2 +H20 = H2CO3=H+ + HCO3-
pH-Defining Equilibrium between Water and Supercritical CO2- Influence on SFE
of Organics and Metal Chelates
Karen L. Toews, Robert M. Shroll, and C. M. Wai 1995

The extraction efficiency of ionizable organics is affected by solution pH. An acidic

medium may cause organic species to become charged, decreasing their solubility in
CO2 and altering the degree of matrix association. When extracting metals or ionizable
organics from a solid matrix, hydrogen ions in the small amount of water present in the
sample may interact with the matrix, making the ions more accessible to ligand attack
and extraction. Knowledge of the pH of the system is useful in both predicting favorable
extraction conditions and interpreting experimental results

pH-Defining Equilibrium between Water and Supercritical CO2- Influence on SFE

of Organics and Metal Chelates
Karen L. Toews, Robert M. Shroll, and C. M. Wai 1995

In extraction of ionizable organic species which are neutral at pH 3. The examples of the neutral
pH 3 are as follows phenols, aromatic amines, sulfonylurea herbicides, chlorotriazines,
organophosphorous pesticides, and phenylurea pesticides can all be extracted with high
efficiency.

pH-Defining Equilibrium between Water and Supercritical CO2- Influence on SFE

of Organics and Metal Chelates
Karen L. Toews, Robert M. Shroll, and C. M. Wai 1995