Ultrathin polymer membranes with locked intrinsic microporosity for hydrocarbon fractionation
Abstract
Membrane technologies offer an energy-efficient alternative to conventional distillation for hydrocarbon fractionation, but they suffer from a trade-off between fast liquid transport and high molecular selectivity. We report a scalable approach to fabricate polymer membranes with stable interconnected pathways by locking in their intrinsic microporosity. This locking strategy reduces polymer swelling and preserves the subnanometer pore structure in hydrocarbon liquids, resulting in 10-fold higher permeance for synthetic crude oil compared with current state-of-the-art membranes. When applied to Arabian Extra Light crude oil, these membranes achieved excellent size- and class-based separation, removing 99.8% of hydrocarbons containing >15 carbon atoms and 93% of sulfur-containing components. These scalable membranes underpin processes providing rapid and selective hydrocarbon separation, enabling a more sustainable pathway toward crude oil refining.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (23)
Adam Oxley
Exactmer Limited, London, UK.
Chunchun Ye
School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Seok Ju Han
School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Guoke Zhao
Sinopec Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, Beijing, China.
Yihao Guo
EastChem School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Xin Shi
Chemistry Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Jie Liu
Keenan Smith
Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, UK.
Mona Sarter
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK.
Lakshmeesha Upadhyaya
Environmental Science and Engineering Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Shanshan Hong
Chemistry Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Vasilios G. Samaras
Core Labs, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Qin Qian
Yanan Liu
Gary S. Nichol
EastChem School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Yiqun Liu
Sinopec Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, Beijing, China.
Suzana P. Nunes
Chemistry Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Fabrizia Foglia
Jianwen Jiang
Anqi Wang
Neil B. McKeown
EastChem School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Andrew G. Livingston
Exactmer Limited, London, UK.
Zhiwei Jiang
Exactmer Limited, London, UK.