MOFs as Catalysts and Adsorbents: Discovery and Engineering of Materials for Industrial Applications

Objective

A major challenge facing European industry involves the development of more specific, energy saving processes with less environmental impact. The recent development of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) may prove a major milestone in achieving these goals. MACADEMIA project is an extension to an FP6 STREP (DeSANNS) which highlighted some MOF materials for CO2 capture and storage. It will expand and continue this work on a much larger scale. The three Total branches will focus on bringing MOFs to key market sectors - gas separation and storage, liquid separation and catalysis. The Total-led consortium, with 11 academic partners from across EU, one leading South Korean partner, among world leaders among their particular domain of MOF science, will be contributing to the project, with a dedicated management partner. MACADEMIA intends to produce new MOFs and optimise those already of promising interest, characterise MOFs using specialised techniques, test MOFs using a three-tiered process, use predictive modelling and demonstrate the use of MOFs in key industrial processes. It will target separation processes in gas / vapour phase (propene/propane, acid gases separation, CO2 and H2 purification), in liquid phase (xylene separations, recovery of N- and/or S-compounds from hydrocarbons), and in catalysis (Lewis-acid MOFs as catalysts for epoxide polymerization, redox-active MOFs as catalysts for hydrocarbon autoxidation). Several of MACADEMIA’s targets are expected to reach pilot scale whereas a blue sky approach will be taken for others giving room for innovation and step change. An attractive project, it is open to young researchers with industrially coordinated research to counterbalance competition from USA and Japan and able to contribute to a strong ERA.

Fields of science

• natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryhydrocarbons
• natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
• natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds

Programme(s)

• FP7-NMP - Specific Programme "Cooperation": Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies

Topic(s)

• NMP-2008-2.4-1 - Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials

Call for proposal

FP7-NMP-2008-LARGE-2
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (16)