Fractionation of crude oil mixtures using thermal distillation is
Much of modern life is tied to oil,therefore, the separation of its molecules is important for civilization. The scale of separation required to provide petroleum products is incredibly large. This membrane technology could have a significant impact on global energy consumption and associated emissions from oil refining, scientists say.
Membrane technology is already widely used inareas such as desalination of seawater, but the complexity of oil refining has so far limited the use of membranes. To overcome this problem, the research team developed a new spirocyclic polymer that was coated onto a durable substrate to create membranes. They are capable of separating complex hydrocarbon mixtures through pressure rather than heating.
Membranes separate molecules from mixtures inaccording to the size and shape. When the molecules are very close in size, this separation becomes more difficult. Scientists have been able to balance many factors to create the right combination of solubility to allow small molecules to pass through them more easily than others. The researchers found that the materials required little structural flexibility to improve dimensional discrimination, as well as the ability to be slightly "sticky" to certain types of molecules found in abundance in crude oil.
After developing new polymers and achievingWith some success using a mixture of synthetic gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, the team decided to try to separate a sample of crude oil and found that the new membrane was highly effective in extracting gasoline and jet fuel.
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