MIT Technology Could Slash Energy Use in Oil Refining by 90%

Engineers at MIT have developed a new approach to crude oil fractionating that could slash the amount of energy needed for processing the crude into different fuels by as much as 90% in a breakthrough that could revolutionize fuel production. MIT engineers have developed a membrane that can filter the components of crude oil based on their molecular size, eliminating the need for crude oil distillation, which is highly energy-intensive.

According to MIT, separating crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel, and heating oil accounts for about…