Durable asymmetric composite membranes comprising of a film of cross-linked poly(ether ether ketone) adhered to a sheet of hydrophilicitized microporous polyolefin are disclosed. The membranes are suitable for use in the recovery or removal of water from feed streams where repeated clean-in-place protocols are required such as in the processing of dairy products. The membranes are also suitable for use in the preparation of durable asymmetric composite membranes with improved rejection characteristics.

Filtration membranes comprising a microporous sheet of polyolefin grafted with a poloxamer are described. In an embodiment, the poloxamer is that supplied under the trade name PLURONIC™ P-123 and the polyolefin is poly(ethylene). The membranes provide the advantage of being tolerant to the cleaning agents used in clean-in-place protocols and can be used to remove particulates from these aqueous feed streams.

A crosslinked protein-based separation membrane and application thereof. The separation membrane is formed by attaching a crosslinked protein nanomembrane to a porous membrane, the crosslinked protein nanomembrane is formed by crosslinking a two-dimensional nanomembrane which is formed by phase transition of a protein with a crosslinking agent, the separation membrane contains a dense surface layer and a support layer, the dense surface layer is the crosslinked protein nanomembrane, and the support layer is the porous membrane; the protein is any one of lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, insulin, and α-lactalbumin; the crosslinked protein-based separation membrane has a good biocompatibility, may serve as a dialysis membrane for blood purification, and has a higher retention ratio for large molecular proteins.

The present disclosure relates to a conjugated polyelectrolyte-grafted membrane, which is obtained by fixing a conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) capable of generating active oxygen under visible light irradiation to a membrane through crosslinking, and can remove contaminants in water, while reducing bio-fouling on the surface of the membrane, by generating active oxygen through a photocatalytic reaction of the conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE), as well as to a method for manufacturing the same. The method for manufacturing a conjugated polyelectrolyte-grafted membrane includes the steps of: preparing a conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE); coating a conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) on the surface of a membrane; and carrying out crosslinking of the conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) with the surface of the membrane.

A photothermal distillation membrane comprising a tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl-trichlorosilane (FTCS) fluoro-silanized, polydopamine (PDA) coated, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane is disclosed, as well as a process for synthesizing a FTCS-PDA-PVDF membrane. A tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl-trichlorosilane (FTCS) fluoro-silanized, polydopamine (PDA) containing bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) aerogel membrane is also disclosed, as well as a process for synthesizing a FTCS-PDA/BNC aerogel membrane.

An article that can be used for biomaterial capture comprises (a) a porous substrate; and (b) borne on the porous substrate, a polymer comprising interpolymerized units of at least one monomer consisting of (1) at least one monovalent ethylenically unsaturated group, (2) at least one monovalent ligand functional group selected from acidic groups, basic groups other than guanidino, and salts thereof, and (3) a multivalent spacer group that is directly bonded to the monovalent groups so as to link at least one ethylenically unsaturated group and at least one ligand functional group by a chain of at least six catenated atoms.

Disclosed are super-hydrophobic, super oleophilic membranes comprising a metal mesh comprising copper, a coating comprising a carbohydrate derivative, wherein the carbohydrate derivative is covalently or ionically bonded to a metal mesh surface and methods of preparation thereof. The disclosed membranes are useful for wastewater treatment in the oil industry, in particular for oil/water separation processes.

An ultrafiltration/nanofiltration membrane with gas-tunable pore size is provided. This membrane comprises an active layer arranged between two porous support layers, wherein the active layer is formed of randomly arranged cellulose nanocrystals, wherein pores are defined in the active layer by the free spaces existing between the randomly arranged cellulose nanocrystals, and wherein chains of a CO.sub.2-responsive polymer are grafted on the surface of the cellulose nanocrystals. There are also provided methods for filtering a feed using the membrane, for tuning the apparent pore size/MWCO/charge of the membrane, for cleaning the membrane, and for manufacturing the membrane.

Membranes for membrane distillation (MD) and forward osmosis (FO) are provided with methods of manufacture and use thereof. The MD membrane comprises a microporous mat of electrospun nanofibers made of a nanocomposite comprising reduced graphene oxide dispersed in a hydrophobic polymer with their surface grafted with a silane coupling agent or with hydrophobic nanoparticles. The FO membrane comprises a microporous support layer and a rejection layer formed on one side of the support layer, wherein the support layer is a microporous mat of electrospun nanofibers made of a nanocomposite of hydrophilic nanoparticles dispersed in a hydrophilic polymer, and the rejection layer is made of nanocomposite of hydrophilic nanoparticles dispersed in a crosslinked meta-aramid of formula (I). There is also provided a process for treating a high-salinity and/or high-strength feed, such as fracking wastewater, comprising microfiltration or ultrafiltration, followed by forward osmosis, and then membrane distillation.

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A photothermal distillation membrane including a polydopamine (PDA) coated, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane is disclosed, as well as a process for synthesizing same. A photothermal aerogel membrane including a polydopamine (PDA)-containing bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is also disclosed, as well as a process for synthesizing same.