Polymer-based membranes selectively separate hydrocarbons

According to the team in Saudi Arabia, their stability and selectivity can be tuned by thermal crosslinking to separate simple hydrocarbon mixtures and complex crude oil fractions.

Separation processes including distillation and evaporation are central to the chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, but they are energy intensive, expensive and polluting. According to KAUST, crude oil refineries consume about one per cent of the total energy used worldwide, and some refineries release up to 20 to 35 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Membranes, with their low carbon footprint and ability to fit in small spaces, offer an attractive alternative to these heat-based processes and can reduce the CO₂emissions of crude oil refineries.

Polymer membranes are cheaper and easier to manufacture and adapt to large-scale processes than inorganic membranes but their low stability under industrial conditions, such as elevated temperature and certain solvents, affects their performance.