Process Elucidation and Hazard Analysis of the Metal-Organic Framework Scale-Up Synthesis: A Case Study of ZIF-8

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted growing attention for various applications in catalysis, separation, environment, food, and medicine. Guidelines for the efficient and safe scale-up synthesis of MOFs are significant to industry; therefore, a detailed process kinetics and hazard analysis can provide an inherently safer design before actual implementation. In this work, from the perspective of reaction engineering and process safety, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is selected as a case example to study the MOF scale-up synthesis in a solvothermal RC1e reactor coupled with in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy under room temperature. Three ZIF-8 formation stages (nucleation, growth, and stationary) are identified over the reaction time, and the corresponding transformation kinetics are correlated by the Avrami model. Moreover, a detailed HAZOP analysis on each step is discussed to explore operability problems caused by deviations from normally designed conditions.

Automated summary

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained increasing attention in various fields such as catalysis, separation, environment, food, and medicine. Guidelines for efficient and safe scale-up synthesis of MOFs are crucial for the industry. This study focuses on the scale-up synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) using a solvothermal RC1e reactor and in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Through detailed process kinetics and hazard analysis, the formation stages and transformation kinetics of ZIF-8 are identified, and potential operability problems are discussed.