CAU-10-H: Synthesis Scale-Up at the Pilot Scale, Techno-Economic Analysis, and Application in a Full-Scale Cooling System

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer a wide range of advantages for modern society. In particular, the growing societal challenges of energy consumption for cooling and water scarcity can be addressed by high-performance MOFs, such as CAU-10-H, Al-MIL-160, and MOF-303. To enable the application of MOFs, sustainable and large-scale production must be established. Here, we report the green, low-cost multikilogram scale-up of CAU-10-H in a pilot-scale batch reactor leading to 27.5 kg of dry MOF, corresponding to a space–time yield (STY) of 99 kg m–3 d–1. Based on the results, a techno-economic analysis was performed to estimate the production cost for a production process at a 1 kt scale. The scenario considered achieved a cost of 13.8 ± 2.8 $ kg–1 (2022 prices). Linker costs were identified as the main cost-driving parameter. Further optimization of the reaction conditions was performed on a 10 L scale, including solvent recycling and increased reaction concentration by a factor of 2. The latter resulted in a projected STY above 400 kg m–3 d–1 without compromising the MOF properties. The best-case scenario (STY = 481 kg m–3 d–1) leads to a reduction in production cost to 12.1 ± 2.4 $ kg–1. Water adsorption capacities and rates of CAU-10-H coatings were measured to evaluate their use in adsorption cooling (ADC). An adsorption chiller simulation showed clear benefits in cooling efficiency for air conditioning in moderate climates and engine heat-driven ship cooling by a factor of 3 against silica gel and a factor of 2 against SAPO-34, the current state-of the art material.