Metal organic frameworks as sorption media for volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds at ambient conditions.
In this research, we investigated the sorptive behavior of a mixture of 14 volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (four aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, p-xylene, and styrene), six C2-C5 volatile fatty acids (VFAs), two phenols, and two indoles) against three metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), i.e., MOF-5, Eu-MOF, and MOF-199 at 5 to 10 mPa VOC partial pressures (25 °C). The selected MOFs exhibited the strongest affinity for semi-volatile (polar) VOC molecules (skatole), whereas the weakest affinity toward was volatile (non-polar) VOC molecules (i.e., benzene). Our experimental results were also supported through simulation analysis in which polar molecules were bound most strongly to MOF-199, reflecting the presence of strong interactions of Cu(2+) with polar VOCs. In addition, the performance of selected MOFs was compared to three well-known commercial sorbents (Tenax TA, Carbopack X, and Carboxen 1000) under the same conditions. The estimated equilibrium adsorption capacity (mg.g(-1)) for the all target VOCs was in the order of; MOF-199 (71.7) >Carboxen-1000 (68.4) >Eu-MOF (27.9) >Carbopack X (24.3) >MOF-5 (12.7) >Tenax TA (10.6). Hopefully, outcome of this study are expected to open a new corridor to expand the practical application of MOFs for the treatment diverse VOC mixtures.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Kowsalya
K
Vellingiri
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Jan E
JE
Szulejko
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India.
Pawan
P
Kumar
Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
Eilhann E
EE
Kwon
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Ki-Hyun
KH
Kim
CSIR-Central Scientific Instrument Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Chandigarh 160030, India.
Akash
A
Deep
Department of Chemistry, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Danil W
DW
Boukhvalov
Environment Division, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK.
Richard J C
RJ
Brown