Reprocessing of used nuclear fuel and advanced nuclear reactors like molten salt reactors generate highly mobile radioactive waste streams of xenon and krypton. The radioactive gases can escape nuclear facilities causing harm to the local environment. To expand and de-risk advanced nuclear energy technologies in the US, novel technologies that mitigate and control this radioactive waste stream emissions are critical. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising adsorbent technology for capturing radioactive gases like xenon. MOFs sorbents can replace expensive and potentially dangerous cryogenic distillations. However, the current cost of adsorbent MOF materials is prohibitively high, limiting the adoption of this technological solution. This proposal addresses this problem by advancing a continuous manufacturing method of MOF production that will lower the cost of MOF production without damaging performance metrics. NuMat is uniquely positioned to address the challenge of high MOF production costs. NuMat is one of the leaders in MOF production in the US and sells a commercial MOF production on the market, ION-X. NuMat will leverage its multidisciplinary team of chemists and chemical engineers and their experience in MOF production to advance continuous production methods for MOF synthesis. It will use the highest standards in chemical engineering to design and build a safe continuous manufacturing process for MOF production. In Phase I, the team will: Build a continuous processing reactor to produce a Xe capture MOF at the laboratory scale. Design a process that controls MOF crystal nucleation and growth to obtain optimal performance. Perform preliminary cost analysis of continuous versus batch processing methods for MOF production. The team will build on this work to scale the continuous synthesis methodology in Phase II and design a laboratory pilot plant system that produces kilograms of material. Beyond Phase II, the team will design and build a pilot plant for the continuous MOF production. A continuous MOF production method has many benefits. Firstly, continuous production will lower costs by improving space-time yields, reducing solvent usage, and reactor footprints. The methodology developed through this program will also impact other MOF-based applications limited by their high cost. NuMat will leverage the principles and learnings of this program to lower MOF costs for other applications like hydrogen storage, gas storage, direct air capture, and gas separations. By proving laboratory scale (<1 kg), laboratory pilot plant (1-10 kgs), and pilot plant (25-100 kgs) through the SBIR program, the team can significantly advance domestic manufacture of MOFs in the United States.
