New MIT Discovery-Reduces Pollution in Oil Refining

[tjscott0]

MIT chemical engineers make potentially game-changing breakthrough with crude...

potentially bringing forward a replacement that can cut its harmful carbon pollution by 90%.

The original technique, which uses heat to separate crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and heating oil, accounts for roughly 1% of all global energy consumption and 6% of dirty energy pollution from the carbon dioxide it releases.

“Instead of boiling mixtures to purify them, why not separate components based on shape and size?” said Zachary P. Smith, associate professor of chemical engineering at MIT and senior author of the study, per Interesting Engineering.

The team invented a polymer membrane that divides crude oil into its various uses like a sieve.

[captainccs]

Reverse osmosis? It’s used to make fresh water from seawater but it takes energy to force the water through the filter..

The Captain

[waterfell]

This is an interesting concept. The article mentions this is similar to reverse-osmosis (RO) membrane filtration used in the water desalination industry. RO still needs rather high pressure, around 800 psi as I recall, so the technology still uses energy. Crude oil is more viscous than seawater, so might need even higher pressure.

Also, in an oil refinery, they have cracking units that break down long-chain molecules into smaller, shorter products. I don’t see this filtration technology being used for that important function. They are still going to need high temperature.

But I’m just an outside observer, not a petroleum engineer.

Does it really save the environment to make a more efficient way of producing gasoline? Jevons Paradox would tell us that such efficiency savings will usually result in even more gasoline production.

_ Pete

[pauleckler]

But note you still need cracking to break large molecules into marketable sizes. Straight run gasoline was the way early refineries did it but now lots more is made by cracking. And they have processes to increase size of smaller materials to make them marketable.

It will be interesting to see what they can do with asphalt.

[rainphakir]

@pauleckler

Straight run gasoline was the way early refineries did it

We’ve seen that individual home solar is being dissuaded… In favor of “large scale, industry controlled” solar farms.
I imagine in the past, small, independent refineries were brutalized with unfair competition such that now we have “big oil”.
But in China, there are teapot refineries that process bootleg black market oil from Iran.

If the cold tech described in the OP requires high pressure, it likely wont help the teapots.

"Teapot Refineries: A 300-Word Overview

Teapot refineries, also known as “independent refineries,” are small, privately owned oil processing plants, primarily found in China. Unlike large state-owned enterprises, these refineries typically have a capacity of less than 100,000 barrels per day and historically operated with limited access to imported crude oil. For many years, they relied on domestically produced, lower-quality crude or processed fuels.

The term “teapot” originated from their small size and perceived inefficiency compared to major refineries. However, their role has significantly evolved since 2015 when the Chinese government began granting them crude oil import quotas and export licenses. This policy shift was intended to stimulate competition, improve efficiency, and reduce regional fuel shortages.

With access to international crude markets, many teapot refineries upgraded their equipment and improved product quality. Some began forming alliances or consolidating to gain better market leverage. Located mainly in Shandong province, these refineries play an increasingly important role in China’s refining landscape, supplying diesel, gasoline, and petrochemical feedstocks.

Despite their growth, teapot refineries face several challenges. They often lack the scale economies of large, integrated plants and are more vulnerable to price fluctuations and policy changes. Environmental regulations have also tightened, pushing many to modernize or shut down. Furthermore, competition from newer, more efficient state-owned and private mega-refineries like Zhejiang Petrochemical is intensifying.

On the global stage, teapot refineries have influenced crude oil demand and trade patterns. Their shifting preferences for different grades of crude and responsiveness to market dynamics have made them an important, if volatile, component of the global oil market.

In summary, while teapot refineries started as small, inefficient players, regulatory reforms and market access have transformed them into agile contributors to China’s refining capacity—albeit with growing pressures to adapt or consolidate in an increasingly competitive industry. "

ralph