• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.506-510
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• 2018

Nitrogen is a serious contaminant in natural gas because it decreases the energy density. The natural gas specification in South Korea requires a $N_2$ content of less than 1 mol%. Thus, cost-effective $N_2$ removal technology from natural gas is necessary, but until now the only option has been energy-intensive processes, e.g., cryogenic distillation. Using porous materials for the removal process would be beneficial for an efficient separation of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures, but this still remains one of the challenges in modern separation technology due to the very similar size of the components. Among various porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) present a promising candidate for the potential $CH_4/N_2$ separation material due to their unique structural flexibility. A MIL-53(Al), the most well-known flexible metal-organic framework, creates dynamic changes with closed pore (cp) transitions to open pores (ops), also called the 'breathing' phenomenon. We demonstrate the separation performance of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures of MIL-53(Al) and its derivative $MIL-53-NH_2$. The $CH_4/N_2$ selectivity of $MIL-53-NH_2$ is higher than pristine MIL-53(Al), suggesting a stronger $CH_4$ interaction with $NH_2$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.417-422
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• 2018

The stereotype of flexible MOFs(Amino-MIL-53) and carbonized porous carbon prepared from renewable resources is successfully synthesized for $CO_2$ reduction application. The textural properties of these microporous materials are investigated, and their $CO_2$ storage capacity and separation performance are evaluated. Owing to the combined effects of $CO_2-Amino$ interaction and its flexibility, a $CO_2$ uptake of $2.5mmol\;g^{-1}$ is observed in Amino-MIL-53 at 20 bar 298 K. In contrast, $CH_4$ uptake in Amino-MIL-53 is very low up to 20 bar, implying potential sorbent for $CO_2/CH_4$ separation. Carbonized samples contain a small quantity of metal residues(K, Ca, Mg, S), resulting in naturally doped porous carbon. Due to the trace metal, even higher $CO_2$ uptake of $4.7mmol\;g^{-1}$ is also observed at 20 bar 298 K. Furthermore, the $CH_4$ storage capacity is $2.9mmol\;g^{-1}$ at 298 K and 20 bar. To evaluate the $CO_2$ separation performance, the selectivity based on ideal adsorption solution theory for $CO_2/CH_4$ binary mixtures on the presented porous materials is investigated.