Biological metal–organic frameworks for natural gas purification and MTO product separation

The use of porous solid adsorbents is an effective and excellent approach for the separation and purification of methanol-to-olefins product and methane (CH4). In this particular study, a series of adenine (AD)-based biological metal–organic frameworks (Bio-MOFs) {Their general formula is Cu 2 (AD) 2 (X) 2 [X = formic acid, acetic acid (AA), and propionic acid]} were proposed, which exhibited remarkable efficiency in the purification of CH4 and the separation of C3H6 from methanol-to-olefins product, ultimately yielding purified C2H4. The experimental findings demonstrate that different terminal ligands induce alterations in the pore microenvironment, consequently leading to variations in adsorption capacities and stability. Specifically, Cu-AD-AA exhibits the highest adsorption capacity and selectivity among the three MOFs, as confirmed by static adsorption isotherm testing and theoretical evaluation using ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) simulation. At 298 K and 1 bar, Cu-AD-AA exhibits 786 and 10.9 selectivity for C3H8/CH4 and C3H6/C2H4, respectively, surpassing the majority of MOFs materials. Furthermore, breakthrough experiments conducted in ambient conditions reveal that Cu-AD-AA possesses commendable separation capabilities, enabling one-step purification of C2H4 at varying proportions (C2H4/C3H6 = 50:50, 50:20, and 90:10), along with satisfactory recycling performance. Importantly, the synthesis of Cu-AD-AA utilizes simple and easily obtainable raw materials, thereby offering advantages such as cost-effectiveness, low toxicity, and facile synthesis that enhance its potential for industrial applications.