Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Chem Soc Rev. 2020 Aug 7;49(15):5359-5406. doi: 10.1039/c9cs00756c. Epub 2020 Jun 24.
Hydrocarbon separation is one of the most critically important and complex industrial separation processes, offering versatile bulk chemicals and vital support to the national economy. Traditional separation technologies, such as cryogenic distillation and solvent extraction, are energy-intensive and cause serious environmental stress. Moreover, the growth of industries and technologies and the greater requirements for products (e.g., purity) lead to challenges that cannot be met using traditional separation methods. Adsorptive and membrane-based separations are recognized as energy-efficient alternatives by which to revolutionize the current energy-intensive conditions and satisfy the new demands. This critical review presents the recent progress in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and related membranes (e.g., continuous MOF membranes and mixed-matrix membranes) for hydrocarbon separation. The contributions of the underlying separation mechanisms (e.g., enthalpy-driven thermodynamic equilibrium, molecular sieving, kinetic separation based on molecular size, and combined mechanisms) and the adopted strategies (e.g., defect and microstructure control, membrane thickness and interfacial compatibility) to the breaking of trade-off (e.g., permeability/selectivity and capacity/selectivity) and the design of novel materials and processing technologies are discussed. Moreover, this review also summarizes the potential barriers that exist from the academic to the ultimate industrial implementations and the prospects of future development.
烃类分离是最重要和最复杂的工业分离过程之一，为国民经济提供了多种大宗化学品和重要支持。传统的分离技术，如低温蒸馏和溶剂萃取，是能源密集型的，并对环境造成严重的压力。此外，随着工业和技术的发展，以及对产品（如纯度）的更高要求，传统的分离方法面临着无法满足的挑战。吸附和膜分离被认为是节能的替代方法，可以彻底改变当前的能源密集型条件，并满足新的需求。这篇重要的综述介绍了金属有机骨架（MOFs）和相关膜（如连续 MOF 膜和混合基质膜）在烃类分离方面的最新进展。讨论了基础分离机制（如焓驱动热力学平衡、分子筛、基于分子大小的动力学分离和组合机制）和采用的策略（如缺陷和微观结构控制、膜厚和界面相容性）对打破权衡（如渗透性/选择性和容量/选择性）以及新型材料和加工技术设计的贡献。此外，还总结了从学术到最终工业应用存在的潜在障碍以及未来发展的前景。
