The present invention provides a separation membrane and a separation membrane element capable of exhibiting a good water production performance even at a high temperature and also excellent handleability and quality. The separation membrane of the present invention includes a separation membrane main body having a feed-side face and a permeate-side face; and a permeate-side channel member fixed onto the permeate-side face of the separation membrane main body, and the permeate-side channel member includes polypropylene as a main component and satisfies the following requirements (a) to (c): (a) a softening point temperature is 60? C. or higher; (b) a tensile elongation in a standard state is 10% or more; and (c) a yield point stress under a wet condition at 50? C. is 2 MPa or more.

A crossflow filter device for filtering a pressurised feed liquid is provided. The crossflow filter device comprises: a filter membrane; a flow channel for the pressurised feed liquid which extends in a path over a retentate surface of the membrane such that the direction of flow in the channel is tangential to the retentate surface, and a filtrate derived from the feed liquid passes through the membrane leaving retentate liquid in the flow channel; and a collection chamber for the filtrate formed on an opposite, filtrate surface of the membrane. The crossflow filter device further comprises a sealed housing having a retentate side and a filtrate side which enclose therebetween the flow channel, the filter membrane and the collection chamber. The path for the flow channel winds back and forth over the retentate surface of the membrane producing plural hairpin bends, and the crossflow filter device further comprises flow channel guide walls provided at an inner surface of the retentate side of the housing to define the path of the flow channel over the retentate surface of the membrane. The respective guide wall defining the line of the inner radius of each hairpin bend is shaped such that retentate liquid flowing along that guide wall has to turn through at least 270? to complete the hairpin bend.

A disposable, crossflow membrane stack suitable for use in an ion exchange unit, the stack comprising alternate dilution compartments and concentration compartments, each compartment being defined by a flat cation-permeable membrane (2) and a flat anion-permeable membrane (1) and at least two edges along which the cation-permeable and an anion-permeable membranes are permanently secured together wherein the cation-permeable membranes and/or the anion-permeable membranes have a textured surface profile which keep said membranes apart and/or from touching each other and wherein the edges secured together define the direction in which liquid may flow through the compartments. Also claimed are ion exchange units comprising the stack, optionally comprising a quick-release securement means to allow facile attachment and release of modular units comprising the stacks.

In order to produce a tubular filter membrane element for microfiltration purposes, a plastic section of a small membrane tube is sealed at one axial end thereof and is fitted with a plastic adapter piece at the opposite end. The adapter piece is injection-molded onto the section of the small membrane tube and is preferably welded thereto. The section of the small membrane tube is sealed at the one axial end thereof by bringing this end into contact with a hot stamp.

Membrane cell stack arrangement and method of manufacturing such a membrane cell stack arrangement. The arrangement has a housing (2) having a central axis, and a stack of membrane cells (4), each membrane cell (6) being arranged inside the housing (2) with a major surface (6a) of the membrane cell (6) oriented substantially perpendicular to the central axis. Each membrane cell (6) has a corner recess (12) between each two adjacent sides of at least four sides (10a-d). Sealing compartments (14) are provided by corner recesses (12) of adjacent membrane cells of the stack of membrane cells (4) in co-operation with a part of an inner surface (2a) of the housing (2).

A membrane filter including a thin film having a nanometer order thickness as a base, which is easy to increase in size, and which has sufficient strength. The membrane filter is formed by laminating a thin film having a thickness of 1 to 1,000 nm with a support film which is a porous film having a thickness of 1 to 1,000 ?m, which is made of a photosensitive composition or a cured product of the photosensitive composition, and has a plurality of hole portions penetrating in the thickness direction.

A membrane filter includes a plurality of honeycomb ceramic filtering elements, each element including a plurality of parallel ducts separated by walls and open on a face for introduction of the liquid to be filtered, an interstitial volume between the filtering elements, a filtration membrane positioned on the inner surface of the walls of the ducts, wherein the filtering elements are joined together by a curable material that forms after curing a sleeve in the form of a single part joining together, by sealing, all of the filtering elements separated the interstitial volume, the sleeve having a thickness e between 1% and 10% of the length of the filter, and the curable material being present in the open porosity and through the entire thickness of each porous wall forming the elements, over a minimum non-zero height h.

In order to provide a hydrogen purification device in which a source gas is supplied, from which a purified gas flows out, that is easily manufacturable, and in which the pressure resistance of an hydrogen permeable membrane is high, the hydrogen purification device is configured to include a hydrogen permeable membrane allowing hydrogen to selectively permeate therethrough, two porous supports that sandwich and support the hydrogen permeable membrane from both surfaces thereof, and a casing having a space formed therein configured to accommodate reaction of the source gas and the hydrogen permeable membrane. The porous supports are contained inside the casing, an outermost edge of the hydrogen permeable membrane extends outward from the outer edges of the porous supports in at least one location, and a peripheral portion of the hydrogen permeable membrane in a vicinity of the outermost edge and the casing are airtightly sealed to each other.

A spiral-wound acid gas separation membrane element (1) includes a wound body which includes a laminate and a perforated core (5), the laminate being wound around the perforated core tube (5) and including: a separation membrane (2), a feed-side channel component (3), and an element constituent layer (e.g., permeate-side channel component (4)). The separation membrane (2) is provided with a sealing section (25) present at both widthwise ends of the separation membrane (2). The sealing section (25) is sealed with an adhesive. This makes it possible not only to separate acid gas from mixed gas more efficiently as compared to a conventional spiral-wound acid gas separation membrane element but also to save energy.

A submersible water desalination apparatus includes a plurality of water separation membrane elements, a product water collector that receives product water from the membrane elements, and a variable output motorized submersible pump having a suction side that receives product water from the product water collector and a discharge side that pumps product water away from the apparatus through a product water conduit for surface or subsurface use. At least a portion of the product water is used to lubricate and optionally also cool at least a portion of the pump, motor or both the pump and motor.