Adsorptive processes for the recovery of VCM emissions using an environmentally friendly MIL-100(Fe) MOF

This work focuses on developing adsorptive separation processes for recovering vinyl chloride emissions from poly(vinyl chloride) production plants. Taking advantage of the mesoporous structure of the MIL-100(Fe) MOF adsorbent, a pressure-swing adsorption separation system was successfully developed for a separation previously dominated by temperature-swing processes. The performance of the PSA unit was compared to an MT-TPSA cycle using the same material and other adsorptive systems found in the literature. The proposed PSA unit can produce an inert gas stream fit for open-air release and a high purity VCM stream capable of being recycled back into the polymerization process. Productivity of 3.52 mol/kgads.h and 71.89 kgVCM/m3unit.h was achieved for an electrical energy consumption of 0.83 MJ/kgVCM.