MIT researchers have developed a new membrane that separates various types of fuel by molecular size, potentially eliminating the need for the energy-intensive process of crude oil distillation. Turning crude oil into everyday fuels like gasoline, diesel, and heating oil demands a huge amount of energy. In fact, this process is responsible for about 6 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Most of that energy is spent heating the oil to separate its components based on their boiling points. Now, in an exciting breakthrough, engineers at MIT have created a new kind of membrane that could change the game....