Process Elucidation and Hazard Analysis of the Metal–Organic Framework Scale-Up Synthesis: A Case Study of ZIF-8

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted growing attention for various applications in catalysis, separation, environment, food, and medicine. Guidelines for the efficient and safe scale-up synthesis of MOFs are significant to industry; therefore, a detailed process kinetics and hazard analysis can provide an inherently safer design before actual implementation. In this work, from the perspective of reaction engineering and process safety, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is selected as a case example to study the MOF scale-up synthesis in a solvothermal RC1e reactor coupled with in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy under room temperature. Three ZIF-8 formation stages (nucleation, growth, and stationary) are identified over the reaction time, and the corresponding transformation kinetics are correlated by the Avrami model. Moreover, a detailed HAZOP analysis on each step is discussed to explore operability problems caused by deviations from normally designed conditions.