Separation of Ethane and Ethylene by a Robust Ethane-Selective Calcium-Based Metal-Organic Framework

We report here the selective adsorption of ethane over ethylene by a robust microporous metal-organic framework (MOF) material, Ca(H(2)tcpb) (H(4)tcpb = 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)-benzene). This compound exhibits higher adsorption capacity and stronger affinity toward ethane over ethylene. Multicomponent column breakthrough measurements confirm that it can selectively adsorb ethane from a binary mixture of ethane and ethylene.