Warning concerning the use of nitrous oxide in supercritical fluid extractions

Nitrous oxide use in the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of 1 gram of ground coffee resulted in an explosion and destruction of the extraction vessel. Even though there was no significant damage to the extraction instrument (other than the SFE cell), a major hazard exists, especially with larger sample sizes. Nitrous oxide should not be used as an extractant in SFE, especially when the samples are high in organic content, nor should nitrous oxide be mixed with organic cosolvents in SFE applications