Methane Storage and Purification of Natural Gas in Metal‐Organic Frameworks

Abstract Natural gas, primarily composed of methane (CH 4 ), represent an excellent choice for a potentially sustainable renewable energy transition. However, the process of compressing and liquefying CH 4 for transport and storage typically results in significant energy losses. In addition, in order to optimize its efficacy as a fuel, the CH 4 content of natural gas needs to be increased to a level of at least 97 % to ensure its quality and efficiency in various applications. Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) represent a novel category of porous materials that possess exceptional capability in modifying pore size and chemical environment, making them ideally suited for the storage of CH 4 and the adsorption of propane (C 3 H 8 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrogen (N 2 ), and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) to facilitate the purification process of CH 4 from natural gas. In this paper, we systematically summarize the mechanism by which MOF materials facilitate the storage of CH 4 and the purification of CH 4 from natural gas, leveraging the structural characteristics inherent to MOF materials. The focus of further research should also be directed towards the investigation of CH 4 storage by flexible MOFs, the resolution of the trade‐off dilemma, and the commercial application of MOFs.