Tailor‐Made Microporous Metal–Organic Frameworks for the Full Separation of Propane from Propylene Through Selective Size Exclusion

Adsorptive separation of olefin/paraffin mixtures by porous solids can greatly reduce the energy consumption associated with the currently employed cryogenic distillation technique. Here, the complete separation of propane and propylene by a designer microporous metal–organic framework material is r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2018-12, Vol.30 (49), p.e1805088-n/a
Main Authors: Wang, Hao, Dong, Xinglong, Colombo, Valentina, Wang, Qining, Liu, Yanyao, Liu, Wei, Wang, Xin‐Long, Huang, Xiao‐Ying, Proserpio, Davide M., Sironi, Angelo, Han, Yu, Li, Jing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adsorbents
adsorptive separation
Adsorptivity
Ambient temperature
Distillation
Energy consumption
Materials science
Metal-organic frameworks
molecular sieving
olefin/paraffin separation
Paraffins
Propane
Propylene
Separation
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Summary:Adsorptive separation of olefin/paraffin mixtures by porous solids can greatly reduce the energy consumption associated with the currently employed cryogenic distillation technique. Here, the complete separation of propane and propylene by a designer microporous metal–organic framework material is reported. The compound, Y6(OH)8(abtc)3(H2O)6(DMA)2 (Y‐abtc, abtc = 3,3′,5,5′‐azobenzene‐tetracarboxylates; DMA = dimethylammonium), is rationally designed through topology‐guided replacement of inorganic building units. Y‐abtc is both thermally and hydrothermally robust, and possesses optimal pore window size for propane/propylene separation. It adsorbs propylene with fast kinetics under ambient temperature and pressure, but fully excludes propane, as a result of selective size exclusion. Multicomponent column breakthrough experiments confirm that polymer‐grade propylene (99.5%) can be obtained by this process, demonstrating its true potential as an alternative sorbent for efficient separation of propane/propylene mixtures. A tailor‐made microporous metal–organic framework designed through a topologically guided secondary building unit (SBU) replacement strategy exhibits the highest selectivity for fast and efficient separation of propane and propylene via a size‐exclusion adsorption mechanism. This material, with excellent thermal and hydrothermal stability, and facile and scalable synthesis, is capable of producing polymer‐grade propylene (99.5%) from a typical propane/propylene mixture of cracking products.
ISSN:0935-9648
1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.201805088