Many hand-held diagnostics are limited in their functionality due to the challenging physics associated with small dimensional systems. An example of this is capillary forces in hydrophilic systems, such as the tight retention of liquid passing through a small pore filtration membrane, or capillary force driven microfluidics where, to keep liquid flowing the dimensions of the system become so small that the flow rates are too low to be useful, or the manufacturing of such devices becomes uneconomical. This disclosure details methods to reset the capillary force condition to avoid the requirement of transient pressure spikes associated with the breakthrough pressure of small pore membranes, and avoid the necessity of extremely small microfluidic channels, which can be useful in applications such as filtration of whole blood to plasma using only suction pressure or passive capillary pressure.

A liquid treatment system, in particular for concentrating milk, and method therefor. The system includes an inlet configured to receive fresh raw milk; and a pressure vessel connected to the inlet. The pressure vessel is provided with a pressure system configured to realize a pressure of at least 10 bar in the pressure vessel. A reverse osmosis membrane is included for filtering the raw milk. A pump is provided for pumping the raw milk under pressure out of the pressure vessel and through or along the reverse osmosis membrane. A permeate outlet is provided for the separated water and a milk outlet is provided for the concentrated milk.

A method of separating material, such as foam, sludge, oil or grease, at a fluid's surface, by applying acoustic pressure shock waves to the material and the fluid's surface such that acoustic pressure shock waves are propagated in liquid medium of the fluid and in gas medium above the fluid surface.

A method of activating and dewatering sludge through application of acoustic pressure shock waves to wastewater.

Acoustic pressure shock waves are applied to a membrane in a fluid to prevent attachment of or dislodge biological or solid matter for membrane cleaning or desalination with a membrane.

Membranes and filtration modules for producing a concentrated feed stream and a diluted feed stream during operation in a water purification or wastewater treatment system. Filtration modules are provided that include a semipermeable membrane having a first side and a second side, the first side configured to receive a first feed solution stream from a first feed solution source and the second side configured to receive a second feed solution stream from a second feed solution source. The semipermeable membrane may be configured to operate at a hydrostatic pressure on the second side of the membrane from about 1% to about 40% of the hydrostatic pressure on the first side of the membrane, and may in some cases exhibit a salt rejection of from about 60 percent to about 90 percent during operation.

A fluid conditioning unit is provided that includes a housing, a cap, a cartridge device, and a filter cartridge. The cap is threadably secured to and unsecured from the housing by rotation about an axis of the housing. The cap forms a removable seal with the housing when secured thereto. The cartridge device is secured to the cap in a manner that restricts movement of the cartridge device with respect to the cap along the axis but allows rotation of the cartridge device with respect to the cap about the axis. The filter cartridge is removably secured to the cartridge device and is disposed in the housing along the axis.

A feed of at least one of (a) a source liquid including a solvent with a dissolved impurity and (b) a retentate of the source liquid is pumped in a substantially closed loop through a liquid-separation module. The liquid-separation module includes a membrane that passes at least partially purified solvent to a permeate side of the membrane while diverting the impurity in a retentate on the retentate side of the membrane. The purified solvent is extracted from the permeate side of the membrane; and the retentate from the liquid-separation module is pumped to or through a pressurized reservoir with a variable volume for the feed component and recirculated as a component of the feed. Over time, the volume for the feed is reduced and the pressure applied to the feed in the reservoir is increased to balance against an increasing difference in osmotic pressure across the membrane.

Provided is a technique for easily trapping microbiota in a sample. A microbiota trapping device of the present disclosure includes a first solution tank having a first filter adapted to trap residue in a sample, and a second solution tank having a second filter adapted to trap bacteria in the sample. The second solution tank has a vent above the second filter.

A device (1) for purification of water driven by gravity through a purification unit between an upper dirt water container (2) and a lower clean water tank (3). A backwash system may be integrated, the system comprising a receptacle (8) for accumulation of the backwash water to prevent consumption thereof by mistake.