Experimental testing of aluminium fumarate MOF for adsorption desalination

Abstract

Many researchers consider adsorption systems as a solution for global problems such as global warming and water scarcity. The experimental and numerical data available in literature are basically focusing on using conventional adsorbent materials such as silica gel and zeolites. Recently, metal-organic framework (MOF) materials has been proposed to substitute these conventional adsorbents. Nevertheless, the potential of MOFs has been only numerically investigated without any experimental data from a real system. To fill this research gap, this work presents for the first time the experimental testing of a MOF material, aluminium fumarate, and how it can affect and enhance the performance of adsorption desalination systems. A parametric study to investigate the effect of different parameters such as chilled water, adsorption cooling water, condensation cooling water, desorption heating water temperatures and half cycle time on the performance of the adsorption system was developed. The suitability of the aluminium fumarate system for adsorption desalination was also assessed through analysing the quality of water produced from the system. Finally, the performance of the aluminium fumarate was also compared to conventional adsorbents such as silica gel. The superior performance of aluminium fumarate highlights the potential of the material in adsorption desalination application.

Water and Metal–Organic Frameworks: From Interaction toward Utilization

“…A recent study of the same team with a two-bed system confirmed that Al-fumarate outperformed both silica and CPO-27(Ni) depending on the operation temperatures and the operation mode (pure desalination or cogeneration). 395 The water (SDWP up to 14 m 3 /(tonne MOF day)) has a high distilled water quality, is produced at a low thermal and electricity consumption, and at the lowest cost (0.3 $/m 3 ) in comparison with other standard operations (reversed osmosis, multieffect distillation, and multistage flash). 395 The reported AD productivities are an order of magnitude large than in water harvesting.…”

“… 395 The water (SDWP up to 14 m 3 /(tonne MOF day)) has a high distilled water quality, is produced at a low thermal and electricity consumption, and at the lowest cost (0.3 $/m 3 ) in comparison with other standard operations (reversed osmosis, multieffect distillation, and multistage flash). 395 The reported AD productivities are an order of magnitude large than in water harvesting. Apart from the technology development level, this is importantly due to the wider range of humidities in AD.…”

Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) through the Lens of Molecular Dynamics Simulation: Current Status and Future Perspective

“…In this regard, various MOFs such as UiO-66 [61], CPO-27Ni [62], aluminum fumarate [63], and MIL-101(Cr) [64] have been probed in experimental studies as appropriate desalination membranes. However, exploring MOFs as RO membranes using theoretical methods such as molecular dynamics is a very recent development, and the number of articles on this subject is almost limited.…”

Adsorption reverse electrodialysis driven by power plant waste heat to generate electricity and provide cooling

“…One challenge in material selection is the working capacity from the material's equilibrium curves that can be achieved at 40 ∘ C. Most novel materials that have been proposed for adsorption desalination showing high water capacities require regeneration temperatures well above 40 ∘ C, for example, MOF materials (90 ∘ C) 79,80 or zeolites AQSOA Z01 and Z02 (60 ∘ C and 80 ∘ C) 76,77 . Ionogels show outstanding performances at regeneration temperatures as low as 25 ∘ C.…”

“…Novel adsorption materials with higher working capacities could reduce the footprint of the system as smaller adsorption beds could produce the same amount of distillate. One challenge in material selection is the working capacity from the material's equilibrium curves that can be achieved at 40 ∘ C. Most novel materials that have been proposed for adsorption desalination showing high water capacities require regeneration temperatures well above 40 ∘ C, for example, MOF materials (90 ∘ C) 79,80 or zeolites AQSOA Z01 and Z02 (60 ∘ C and 80 ∘ C). 76,77 Ionogels show outstanding performances at regeneration temperatures as low as 25 ∘ C. Hence, ionogels would be ideal for the ADRED process.…”