{
  "id": 7089689,
  "title": "Chinese scientists develop new oil refining method that may cut energy use by 90%",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/chinese-scientists-develop-new-oil-refining-method-that-may-cut-7089689",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-13T10:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367332/chinese-scientists-develop-new-oil-refining-method-may-cut-energy-use-90"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese researchers have developed a novel oil refining method that could slash energy consumption by up to 90 percent. The technique, called \"molecular refining\" or cascade membrane separation, operates at the molecular level to separate crude oil into different compounds for various uses. Traditional refining relies on distillation, which consumes significant energy and is less precise. The new approach uses two specially designed membranes to separate molecules based on size and surface chemistry. The first membrane screens molecules by size, filtering out smaller straight-chain and single-branched alkanes for ethylene production. The second membrane targets chemical aromatics, essential for plastics, resins, and fibres, while separating multi-branched alkanes and cycloalkanes for petrol. Testing on a simulated light naphtha mixture showed an 85-90 percent recovery rate of high-value products. Crucially, the process uses 91 percent less energy than traditional distillation, eliminating the need for repeated heating, vaporization, and condensation. Researchers from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics published their findings in National Science Review, highlighting the method's potential to maximize resource use and reduce emissions.",
  "summary": "Chinese scientists say they have devised a new technique for refining oil that cuts the amount of energy consumed during the process by roughly 90 per cent. If the technology used in the study could be scaled up for industry, it would not only greatly reduce production costs and emissions, but also make the process more precise and boost product value. Crude oil cannot be turned directly into…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
        "title": "Chinese scientists develop new oil refining method that may cut energy use by 90%",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/chinese-scientists-develop-new-oil-refining-method-that-may-cut",
        "published": "2026-09-13T10:00:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}