CO₂ separation from gas mixtures using metal organic frameworks-based mixed matrix membranes: A comprehensive review

The main cause of climate change and global warming is the rising atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Although there are potentially several techniques for tackling CO₂ separation from gas mixtures, membrane technology is one of the most promising techniques because of its ease of use, affordability, and energy efficiency. However, the characteristics of the membrane material have a significant impact on how well CO₂ membrane separation works. Recently, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as attractive materials for fabricating membranes with high CO₂ permeability and selectivity. However, comprehensive and up-to-date reviews on this topic are still limited in the published literature, highlighting that this review is timely and of great need. In this article, the manufacturing processes, difficulties, and developments of MOF-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for CO₂ separation are thoroughly covered in this paper. Recent research shows that by including MOFs into polymeric matrix, the drawbacks of traditional membranes can be overcome and thermal stability, chemical resistance, and separation performance greatly improved. Critical evaluation is given to the impact of process variables as well as the thermal and chemical stability of MOFs-based membranes. This article also evaluates the energy consumption and the environmental impact of CO₂ separation using MOFs-based membranes. Issues such as economic aspects of MOFs synthesis and membrane fabrication, scalability, and long-term durability are highlighted and future research to address them has been suggested to push this technology a step closer towards practical applications. This study also highlights the enormous potential of MMMs fabricated using MOFs as an environmentally friendly way to effectively separate CO₂.