Stable titanium metal-organic framework with strong binding affinity for ethane removal

• Published in: Chinese journal of chemical engineering 2022-02, Vol.42 (2), p.35-41
• Main Authors: Liu, Puxu, Wang, Yong, Chen, Yang, Wang, Xiaoqing, Yang, Jiangfeng, Li, Libo, Li, Jinping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Ethylene purification; Molecular simulation; Separation; Strong binding affinity; Titanium metal-organic framework
• ISSN: 1004-9541; 2210-321X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.07.027

[Display omitted] Direct separation of high purity ethylene (C2H4) from an ethane (C2H6)/ethylene mixture is a critical and challenging task owing to the very similar molecular size and physical properties of the two components. While some studies have attempted this separation, there is a lack of excellent porous materials with strong binding affinity for C2H6-selective adsorption via an energy-efficient adsorptive separation process. Herein, we report a titanium metal-organic framework with strong binding affinity and excellent stability for the highly efficient removal of C2H6 from C2H6/C2H4 mixtures. Single component adsorption isotherms demonstrated a larger amount of adsorbed ethane (1.16 mmol·g−1 under 1 kPa) and high C2H6/C2H4 selectivity (2.7) for equimolar C2H6/C2H4 mixtures, especially in the low-pressure range, which is further confirmed by the results of grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations for C2H6 adsorption in this framework. The experimental breakthrough curves showed that C2H4 with a high purity was collected directly from both 1:9 and 1:15 C2H6/C2H4 (volume ratio) mixtures at 298 K and 100 kPa. Moreover, the unchanged adsorption and separation performance after cycling experiments confirmed the promising applicability of this material in future.