(402h) Integrated Material and Process Evaluation of Metal–Organic Frameworks Database for Energy-Efficient SF6/N2 Separation

As we transition from centralized power systems (such as coal-fired power plants) to more decentralized ones (such as solar and wind) to power the planet, it becomes critical to reliably and securely distribute the electricity to where it demands. The central to the electricity supply chain is the switchgear, and a recent report indicates that the market for the high-performing switchgear is expected to reach 152 billion dollar by 2029. The most effective form of the switchgear is the gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), where the conductors and contacts are
insulated by pressurized dielectric gas, such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The high dielectric strength of SF6 makes the gas useful in GIS, where SF6 is typically mixed with relatively cheap N2. However, SF6 has been identified as one of the main greenhouse gases in the Paris Agreement [2] due to its high global warming potential (GWP: 22,800–23,900). In this work, we developed computational high-throughput screening approach combining both molecular and process-level simulations to screen metal-organic frameworks for SF6/N2 separation application. In particular, we focused on the impact of the mode of operation, such as vacuum swing or pressure-swing, on the process performance, such as purity of recovered SF6. Additional constrained optimization results show the importance of pump-efficiency depending on the mode of operations.