SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Statement of the problem or situation that is being addressed. Metal-organic frameworks are a class of polymeric material with high internal surface areas, resulting in considerable interest for gas storage and separations applications. These porous materials are typically only made on a laboratory scale via conventional heating methods, where synthetic processes oftentimes involve long reaction times, high temperatures, and low yields. The utilization of metal-organic frameworks as sorbent media creates a need for more efficient, larger scale manufacturing processes than the current state of the art practices.General statement of how this problem is being addressed. This small business proposes an innovative and commercially viable approach for producing metal-organic frameworks via a continuous, energy-efficient process enabled by emergent green reaction technologies. The innovation is a two-step process that produces and purifies sorbent materials with direct application to the recovery of radioactive, gaseous materials that result from nuclear power generation. The small business successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept for continuous production of a selected metal-organic framework with properties that exceed current state of the art materials.What was done in Phase I (and Phase II if applying for a Phase IIA, Phase IIB, or Phase IIC)? During Phase I, this small business successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed approach. A selected metal-organic framework was synthesized continuously utilizing a rapid, scalable, energy-efficient process. The team recorded high Kr adsorption capacity of this material for nuclear off gas applications. A techno-economic analysis was performed to outline pathways for scale-up and further development in Phase II. This analysis demonstrated that the Phase I processes are economically viable for scale-up and production of the target metal-organic framework sorbent.What is planned for the Phase II project? The overall goal of the Phase II program is to demonstrate process refinement and scale-up of the baseline system to enable technology transition into pilot and commercial production. During the Phase II effort, this small business will: (a) demonstrate scale-up of the manufacturing process prototype hardware to increase throughput while maintaining high purity; (b) demonstrate the performance of the materials for gas capture and separation, and (c) develop a transition and implementation plan for profitable production of selected metal-organic frameworks on the multi-ton scale.Commercial Applications and Other Benefits (limited to the space provided). The proposed approach will demonstrate a rapid, economically viable process to produce metal-organic frameworks for gas adsorption applications. Additionally, the process can be utilized for the scalable production of other metal-organic frameworks and porous materials.
