A newly developed material might one day help lighten the carbon footprint of oil refineries, which consume some 230 gigawatts annually—equivalent to the total energy consumption of Nevada.
Despite efforts to pivot toward renewable sources of energy, oil remains the backbone of modern society. It provides fuels for heat and transportation, and chemicals for everything from plastics to pharmaceuticals. But all these uses require separating crude oil into its various components. That separation process—which traditionally relies on heat—takes a tremendous amount of energy and accounts for roughly 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year.
“The potential savings are pretty impressive,” says Ryan Lively, a chemical engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology who was not involved in the new work. The new membranes, he adds, must still prove to be durable for months if not years at a time. He and others also caution that conventional oil refineries may be slow to adopt them, because companies have already sunk costs into installing conventional separations systems.
Two years ago, researchers led by Lively and Andrew Livingston, a chemical engineer at Queen Mary University of London, reported inrather than distillation. They created membranes with built-in pores that allow small, light hydrocarbons to pass through and keep larger, heavier ones out. But light hydrocarbons passed through the membranes too slowly to make them practical for real-world use.
So, he and colleagues reformed the polymers that make up conventional membranes. First, they made individual polymers, linking a hydrophobic, or oil-like portion, to a hydrophilic, or waterlike strand. When they added these molecules in a mix of oil and water, they spontaneously assembled into tiny bubbles, or vesicles, with the hydrophobic portion facing inward.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Romance novel model pleads guilty to dragging officer down Capitol steps on Jan. 6Michigan bodybuilder-turned-construction worker Logan Barnhart pleaded guilty to helping drag an officer down stairs and into the crowd at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Leer más »
‘Blonde’ Strips Marilyn Monroe of Her Complexity in Joyce Carol Oates’ NovelAs a work of adaptation, Andrew Dominik's latest film fails to succeed where his other previous features have done so before.
Leer más »
The latest novel from C.J. Box, and more books of regional interest for SeptemberThe latest novel from C.J. Box, and more books of regional interest for September (via thknwco)
Leer más »
Exclusive: Read an Excerpt From 'Star Wars: The High Republic's 'Path of Deceit' NovelGet an exclusive look at Chapter 4 of 'The High Republic: Path of Deceit,' the upcoming starwars novel by justinaireland and tessagratton.
Leer más »
Portugeuse YA Graphic Novel Pardalita by Joana Estrela, Now in EnglishPardalita is a new YA graphic novel by Joana Estrela. The book follows 16-year-old Raquel, living in small-town Portugal, as she navigates the fallout
Leer más »
Emily Thomas Sells Her Debut Graphic Novel, A Smile Like YoursEmily Thomas' debut graphic novel A Smile Like Yours is a queer YA graphic novel which follows Rhys Moore, a university freshman with developmental
Leer más »