A porous support includes a base body, a supporting layer, and a topmost layer. The supporting layer is disposed between the base body and the topmost layer, and makes contact with the topmost layer. A ratio of a porosity of the topmost layer to a porosity of the supporting layer is greater than or equal to 1.08. A ratio of a thickness of the topmost layer to a thickness of the supporting layer is less than or equal to 0.9.

The monolithic separation membrane structure includes a monolithic base, an intermediate layer and a separation membrane. The monolithic base has a plurality of filtration cells extending from a first end face to a second end face. The intermediate layer is formed on an inner surface of the filtration cells. The separation membrane is formed on an inner surface of the intermediate layer. An inner diameter not including the intermediate layer and the separation membrane of the plurality of respective filtration cells is greater than or equal to 1.0 mm to less than or equal to 2.0 mm. A partition wall thickness not including the intermediate layer and the separation membrane of the shortest portion of two adjacent filtration cells of the plurality of filtration cells is greater than or equal to 0.05 mm to less than 0.2 mm. A thickness of the intermediate layer is greater than or equal to 20 ?m to less than 100 ?m.

The present invention generally relates to porous ceramic material and to methods of making and using the material. More particularly, the invention relates to methods of forming ceramic materials by depositing material, using atomic layer deposition, onto a sacrificial substrate and to ceramic materials having controlled wall thickness, relatively large pores, and high surface area by weight.

The present invention provides two-component compositions for making a waterproofing membrane comprising as component A) one or more acrylic aqueous emulsion copolymerization product (copolymer) of (i) from 60 to 89.9 wt. % of one or more nonionic (meth)acrylic monomers, preferably, butyl acrylate, methyl acrylate or ethylhexyl (meth)acrylate, (ii) from 10 to 40 wt. % of one or more vinyl aromatic monomers, (iii) from 0.1 to 2.0 wt. % of one or more amide functional acrylic monomer, and mixtures thereof with itaconic acid or methacrylic acid, wherein the emulsion copolymer has at least one residue of an ascorbic acid reducing agent and of t-butyl hydroperoxide and has less than 40 ppm or, preferably, less than 20 ppm, or more preferably, less than 10 ppm, of residual (meth)acrylamide.

An inorganic membrane filtration article and methods for making the same. The membrane filtration article includes a sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb with a plurality of partition walls defining a plurality of open channels from an inlet end of the honeycomb to an outlet end of the honeycomb. The honeycomb is formed from a cordierite composition with low-sodium and/or low-potassium content for enhanced filtration performance.

Non-oxidative direct methane conversion (NDMC) to value-added products, such as H.sub.2, C.sub.2 hydrocarbons, and aromatics, occurs within a reactor heated to an elevated temperature. The reactor can have a first volume, where a feed gas including methane is provided, separated from a second volume, where a sweep gas is provided, by a dense thin film membrane supported on a porous wall. The thin film membrane is a mixed ionic-electronic permeable membrane that allows H2 generated in the first volume to be transported to the second volume for removal by (or reaction with) the sweep gas. A catalyst can be provided in or adjacent to the first volume. For example, the catalyst can be a metal doped quartz material (e.g., Fe(c)SiO.sub.2) or a metal/zeolite material (e.g., Mo/ZSM5). Methane conversion and/or product selectivity in the reactor can be manipulated by control of gas flow rates, reaction temperatures, and/or feed and sweep gas compositions.

Methods are disclosed for producing an organic functionalized solid inorganic substrate, a surface of the inorganic substrate comprising a hydroxide and/or an oxide comprising an element M, the element M being a metal or a metalloid. The method includes drying the surface; optionally removing protons from the surface; and contacting the surface with an organometallic reagent comprising at least one organic functional moiety, thereby obtaining the organic functionalized inorganic substrate, the at least one organic functional moiety being attached to the element M of the hydroxide and/or the oxide by means of a direct M-C bond. The drying step includes contacting the surface with a flow comprising an inert gas. The organic functionalized inorganic substrate obtained by the method may be used as a membrane, a catalyst, a sorbent, a sensor or an electronic component, or as a substrate in filtration, adsorption, chromatography and/or separation processes.

Anion exchange membranes and materials including silica-based ceramics, and associated methods, are provided. In some aspects, anion exchange membranes that include a silica-based ceramic that forms a coating on and/or within a porous support membrane are described. The anion exchange membranes and materials may have certain structural or chemical attributes (e.g., pore size/distribution, chemical functionalization) that, alone or in combination, can result in advantageous performance characteristics in any of a variety of applications for which selective transport of positively charged ions through membranes/materials is desired. In some embodiments, the silica-based ceramic contains relatively small pores (e.g., substantially spherical nanopores) that may contribute to some such advantageous properties. In some embodiments, the anion exchange membrane or material includes quaternary ammonium groups covalently bound to the silica-based ceramic.

This disclosure concerns methods of fabricating porous ceramic supports and supported ceramic membranes, comprising mixing a ceramic powder, a clay powder and a binder to form a mixture, kneading the mixture in an aqueous or non-aqueous medium and a humectant to form a ceramic paste, and aging the ceramic paste for at least 24 h. The ceramic powder is about 70 wt % to about 80 wt % in the ceramic paste. The clay powder is about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % in the ceramic paste. The ceramic powder has an average particle size of about 5 ?m to about 20 ?m. This disclosure also concerns porous ceramic supports and supported ceramic membranes thereof.

A method for preparing a support of a molecular sieve membrane is provided and relates to a technical field of support preparation, including steps of: according to a molar ratio of magnesium, aluminum and silicon in cordierite, preparing a nanometer composite sol of magnesium, aluminum, silicon and lanthanum serving as a sintering aid through a sol-gel method, enveloping and bonding the sol on a surface of dispersed nano-sized cordierite powders, and transforming the sol into nanometer composite oxides through presintering; mixing the cordierite powders, a binder and water, forming mud, extruding the mud, forming the mud into a green body, and sintering the green body into a cordierite support; coating a layer of film on the cordierite support with an aqueous dispersant of zirconia, then sintering, and obtaining a support of a molecular sieve membrane, composited by a cordierite main support layer and a zirconia film layer.