A coated granule that is suitable for use in a bituminous roofing membrane. The coated granule comprises: i) a granule, the granule comprising cristobalite, ii) a first coating on the surface of the granule, the coating comprising TiO2 in its anatase form and a binder, and iii) an oil barrier coating on the first coating, the oil barrier coating being a compound which will form a bond with a bituminous material, the oil barrier degrading upon exposure to the ultra violet radiation in sunlight and/or the action of rainwater to thereby expose the first coating.

A monolithic separation membrane structure comprises a substrate, a first support layer and a separation membrane. The substrate is composed of a porous material and including a plurality of through holes. The first support layer is formed on an inner surface of the plurality of through holes. The separation membrane arranged in the first support layer. The first support layer includes an aggregate material having alumina as a main component, an inorganic binder have titania as a main component, and a sintering additive having at least one of silica and magnesia as a main component.

A filter including a porous support defining one or more channels therethrough, and a porous ceramic membrane layer on a surface of the porous support defining at least one of the one or more channels. The ceramic membrane layer includes an inorganic ceramic composition having the formula SiM.sup.p.sub.xpC.sub.yN.sub.zO.sub.mH.sub.n, where each M.sup.p present is independently selected from a p-block element or a d-block element; p is an integer from 1 to 5; for each M.sup.p present, xp is independently from about 0 to about 60; y is from about 0 to about 60; z is from about 0 to about 60; m is from about 0 to about 40; and n is zero or nonzero. At least one of y and z is nonzero when p is zero, and p is nonzero when y and z are both zero.

Provided are separators for use in an electrochemical cell comprising (a) an inorganic oxide and (b) an organic polymer, wherein the inorganic oxide comprises organic substituents. Also provided are electrochemical cells comprising such separators.

Durable, porous alumina-carbon nanotube membranes and methods for making them using spark plasma sintering. Methods for removing heavy metals such as cadmium from waste water using alumina-carbon nanotube membranes.

A kit of parts suitable to form a waterproofing membrane consisting of a first component A including or consisting of a) 5-60 mass parts, preferably 30-60 mass parts, more preferably 45-55 mass parts, of a hydraulic binder, b) 0.5-15 mass parts, preferably 1-5 mass parts of at least one synthetic polymer, c) 20-80 mass parts, preferably 30-50 mass parts of aggregates, and d) optionally further additives and a second component B including or consisting of an aqueous emulsion of bitumen.

A composition including a binder and a variable thermal conductivity material satisfying a conditional expression 1, wherein a content of the variable thermal conductivity material is from 300 parts by weight to 10,000 parts by weight with respect to a content of 100 parts by weight of the binder:
?.sub.max/?.sub.25?1.2[conditional expression 1] (wherein, ?.sub.25 represents a thermal conductivity at 25? C., and ?.sub.max represents the maximum value of a thermal conductivity at 200? C. or 500? C.).

A method for fabricating a filter member includes: mixing a predetermined amount of zeolite with alumina to form a composite mixture; spraying a coating material onto the composite mixture to form a coated composite mixture including granules; filtering the granules to obtain granules having a predetermined length dimension; shaping the obtained granules to form a compacted disc having a predetermined thickness; and heat-treating the compacted disc to form a filter member.

A preparation method of a ceramic membrane support is disclosed. Take aluminum hydroxide, produced through a carbon decomposing process by a sintering method, as a raw material, pre-sinter the aluminum hydroxide, and obtain a low-temperature alumina product A; add a first amount of mineralizer into the product A, grind after calcining the added product A, and obtain a -alumina product B; mix the product B with Al.sub.2O.sub.3.nH.sub.2O, calcine after adding a second amount of mineralizer into the mixed product B, and obtain a -alumina product C; grind, scatter and grade the calcined and heat-preserved -alumina product C, and obtain polyhedral alumina powders; mix the polyhedral alumina powders, water, humectant and dispersant and then sinter, and finally obtain the porous alumina support. The prepared support is easy to be sintered, is high in alumina purity, is good in corrosion resistance, and is improved in porosity and flux.

A membrane device comprising a porous ceramic member. The porous ceramic member comprises a first support portion operable to support an active layer and further comprises a second support portion. The second support portion has a higher D.sub.75 average pore size than the D.sub.75 average pore size of the first support portion. The second support portion comprises a lattice structure that has a porosity percentage of ?40%. The porous ceramic member has a tensile strength operable to withstand feed application pressure of ?100 kPa (1 bar).