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Molecular separations

Don’t go (phase) changing

Nature Chemical Engineering volume 3, pages 12–14 (2026)Cite this article

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Polymer membranes able to separate organic molecules present in hydrocarbon liquids were demonstrated in the 1960s and first commercialized in the 1990s. Now, a new generation of research advocates using advanced polymer membranes to separate large-scale hydrocarbon mixtures, such as crude oils. This technology holds great promise for low-energy separation applications.

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Fig. 1: Cost of abatement of CO2 emissions by deploying membrane filtration for solvent recovery.

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  1. School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Andrew Livingston

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  1. Andrew Livingston
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Correspondence to Andrew Livingston.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Livingston, A. Don’t go (phase) changing. Nat Chem Eng 3, 12–14 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00352-1

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