Kinetic Separation of Butane Isomers Using a Formate Metal-Organic Framework

Yi-Peng Liu; Jing-Hong Li; Zi-Nan Chen; Wei Xue; Hao-Long Zhou; Rui-Biao Lin; Xiao-Ming Chen

doi:10.1002/cplu.202400756

Kinetic Separation of Butane Isomers Using a Formate Metal-Organic Framework

Chempluschem. 2025 Jan 16:e202400756. doi: 10.1002/cplu.202400756. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yi-Peng Liu¹, Jing-Hong Li¹, Zi-Nan Chen², Wei Xue¹, Hao-Long Zhou², Rui-Biao Lin³, Xiao-Ming Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Sun Yat-Sen University, School of Chemistry, CHINA.
² Shantou University, Department of Chemistry, CHINA.
³ Sun Yat-Sen University, Chemistry, 135 Xingang West Rd, Haizhu District, Fengsheng Hall, 510275, Guangzhou, CHINA.

PMID: 39817597
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202400756

Abstract

n-butane (n-C4H10) and isobutane (i-C4H10) are important raw materials in chemical industry. The separation of the two hydrocarbon isomers via distillation is challenging and energy-consuming. Herein we report the adsorption behavior of a microporous cobalt formate framework [Co3(HCOO)6] for potential kinetic separation of butane isomers. Under ambient condition, [Co3(HCOO)6] shows near adsorption capacity for n-C4H10 (1.77 mmol g-1) and i-C4H10 (1.36 mmol g-1) with different adsorption kinetics. Study on the adsorption kinetic for butane indicates that the smaller isomer is adsorbed at a higher diffusion rate, resulting in a high kinetic selectivity of 193 for n-C4H10/i-C4H10 separation. Analyses of adsorption kinetics and breakthrough experiment have validated the separation potential of [Co3(HCOO)6] for butane purification.

Keywords: Butane isomers; Cobalt Formate; Kinetic separation; Metal-organic framework; Porous coordination polymer.