Light Hydrocarbon Separations Using Porous Organic Framework Materials

Light hydrocarbons (C₁–C₃) are used as basic energy feedstocks and as commodity organic compounds for the production of many industrially necessary chemicals. Due to the nature of the raw materials and production processes, light hydrocarbons are generated as mixtures, but the high-purity single-component products are of vital importance to the petrochemical industry. Consequently, the separation of these C₁–C₃ products is a crucial industrial procedure that comprises a significant share of the total global energy consumption per year. As a complement to traditional separation methods (distillation, partial hydrogenation, etc.), adsorptive separations using porous solids have received widespread attention due to their lower energy costs and higher efficiency. Extensive research has been devoted to the use of porous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as solid adsorbents for these key separations, owing to the high porosity, tunable pore structures, and unsaturated metal sites present in these materials. Recently, porous organic framework (POF) materials composed of organic building blocks linked by covalent bonds have also shown excellent properties in light hydrocarbon adsorption and separation, sparking interest in the use of these materials as adsorbents in separation processes. This Minireview summarizes the recent advances in the use of POFs for light hydrocarbon separations, including the separation of mixtures of methane/ethane, methane/propane, ethylene/ethane, acetylene/ethylene, and propylene/propane, while highlighting the relationships between the structural features of these materials and their separation performances. Finally, the difficulties, challenges, and opportunities associated with leveraging POFs for light hydrocarbon separations are discussed to conclude the review.