Estimated 31.6% distillation energy savings… 28-day test of crude oil separation membrane

KAIST and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers reported that placing a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane ahead of conventional atmospheric crude distillation could cut energy use by 31.6%, based on a process simulation rather than refinery measurements, with the study published June 24 in Nature. The approach first separates some light crude components through the membrane before sending the remainder to existing distillation units. The paper estimates global atmospheric and vacuum distillation consumes over 1,100 TWh annually and emits more than 160 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The result matters because distillation is the most energy-intensive step in refining, and the next step is validating the simulated savings in operating refineries rather than models.