Phenolics isolation from bio-oil using the metal-organic framework MIL-53(Al) as a highly selective adsorbent.

By using flexible metal organic frameworks such as MIL-53(Al), the selective uptake of 4-methylguaiacol was achieved from a simulated bio-oil (40 wt%). Similar high uptake capacity of phenolics (27 wt%) was observed from a real pyrolysis bio-oil, with good selectivity towards a variety of phenolics, e.g. guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol and catechol.