Adsorption and separation of C2 hydrocarbons based on metal organic frameworks: research progress

C2 hydrocarbons including ethane, ethylene and acetylene are widely used in petrochemical industry, their separation and purification is an important process in chemical production．Due to rather similar physical properties and molecular sizes, separation and purification of C2 hydrocarbons are extremely difficult．Cryogenic distillation is the main method used in current industry, which is extensively energy-consuming and require special equipment．Separation based on physical adsorption is regarded as economical with low energy demand．Porous adsorbents of metal organic-frameworks (MOFs), with diverse structure, high surface area, designable and functionable aperture, are considered most promising in C2 separation．In this review, researches on adsorption and separation of C2 hydrocarbons based on MOF in recent years are summarized, with a focus on relationship between structure and separation capacity．The mechanisms of these C2 separation process are discussed．