Ethane/ethylene separation in a metal-organic framework with iron-peroxo sites.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30361370.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.aat0586.
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Abstract
The separation of ethane from its corresponding ethylene is an important, challenging, and energy-intensive process in the chemical industry. Here we report a microporous metal-organic framework, iron(III) peroxide 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate [Fe<sub>2</sub>(O<sub>2</sub>)(dobdc) (dobdc<sup>4-</sup>: 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)], with iron (Fe)-peroxo sites for the preferential binding of ethane over ethylene and thus highly selective separation of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> Neutron powder diffraction studies and theoretical calculations demonstrate the key role of Fe-peroxo sites for the recognition of ethane. The high performance of Fe<sub>2</sub>(O<sub>2</sub>)(dobdc) for the ethane/ethylene separation has been validated by gas sorption isotherms, ideal adsorbed solution theory calculations, and simulated and experimental breakthrough curves. Through a fixed-bed column packed with this porous material, polymer-grade ethylene (99.99% pure) can be straightforwardly produced from ethane/ethylene mixtures during the first adsorption cycle, demonstrating the potential of Fe<sub>2</sub>(O<sub>2</sub>)(dobdc) for this important industrial separation with a low energy cost under ambient conditions.