Study of HKUST (Copper benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, Cu-BTC MOF)-1 metal organic frameworks for CH4 adsorption: An experimental Investigation with GCMC (grand canonical Monte-carlo) simulation

We have measured the methane uptakes on HKUST (Copper benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, Cu-BTC MOF)-1 MOF (metal organic framework) for the temperatures ranging from 120 K to 300 K and pressures up to 10 bar. The experimentally measured HKUST-1 + CH4 isotherms data are compared with uptakes of various adsorbents and methane systems. We have also simulated the methane uptakes and its density distribution on HKUST-1 employing GCMC (grand canonical Monte-carlo) simulation and compare with experimental data. In this article, we also present an extensive study on characterization and property evaluation of HKUST-1 MOF for CH4 adsorption characteristics employing XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope) and TGA (thermo gravimetric analysis). Employing GCMC and the thermodynamic property fields of HKUST-1 + CH4 system, the isosteric heat of adsorption (Q(st)) is calculated and Q(st) is presented in a T-s (temperature-entropy) diagram. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.