MOFs industrialization: a complete assessment of production costs

The potential of safe and low-cost batch production processes for Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) at an industrial scale has been evaluated based on the prototypical MOF MIL-160(Al), a bio-derived material of high practical interest that can be made with a high space-time yield using green ambient pressure conditions. A simple method to calculate the production cost of this material has been determined based on a simulated process constructed with the data collected from laboratory pilot large-scale tests taking into account for the first time in MOF cost evaluation all the process parameters such as the scale, the cost of the raw materials, recirculation, and washing. The investment for a production plant established the ground for the estimation of the complete cost. The expected cost ranged from ca. 55 $ per kg at 100 tons per year down to 29.5 $ per kg for 1 kton per year production with longer term perspectives of reaching costs below 10 $ per kg once the bio-derived ligand is considered for the large-scale production of bioplastics.