A hollow fiber membrane of the present invention is a hollow fiber membrane having an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the inner surface has a zebra stripe pattern in which dense portions and porous portions are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction, and the outer surface has a maximum pore size of about 1 m or less (about 1 m), and wherein the hollow fiber membrane has a water permeability (flux) of about 1,300 LMH/bar to about 5,000 LMH/bar.

Disclosed is a semipermeable membrane and its preparation method. The semipermeable membrane obtained has a Turing structure. The Turing structure is an ordered pattern composed of microstructures. The existence of the structure enables the semipermeable membrane of this invention to have both high water permeation flux and excellent salt retention performance, which breaks the flux limit value of the semipermeable membrane while ensuring high selective permeability of the membrane. It also has good anti-pollution properties. The preparation method of the invention can be easily integrated into the existing semipermeable membrane production line without further cost input which has far-reaching practical significance and commercial value.

Gas separation modules and methods for use including an integrated adsorbent and membrane. In certain refining applications, it is paramount to obtain high purity product gases. Adsorbent beds are effective at removing certain contaminants, such as CO.sub.2, from gas streams containing product and contaminant constituents to form a product-rich stream. The integrated membrane permits a further separation of products from any unadsorbed contaminant to produce a high purity product, such as hydrogen, stream. The gas separation modules described herein include stacked, radial, and spiral arrangements. Each modules includes a configuration of feed and cross-flow channels for the collection of contaminant gases and/or high purity product gases.

Provided is a water-treatment filter module, an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a helical strand for a water-treatment filter module, and a method for manufacturing a spacer. Also provided is a water-treatment filter module comprising a membrane for filtering raw water, and a spacer laminated to the membrane and providing a plurality of passages for passing the raw water through to the membrane, wherein the spacer includes a first member extending in a first direction and a second member extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction and disposed so as to form spacer cells by intersecting with the first member, and at least one of the first member and the second member is wound in a spiral shape having a predetermined pitch of a predetermined radius around a central axis.

Charge mosaic membranes useful for desalination applications, and methods of making and using the same, are described.

The container for diffusing volatile substances comprises a transparent container body (1) for a material impregnated with volatile substances and provided with an opening (2); a permeable membrane (3) that closes the opening (2) of the container body (1); and a barrier layer (4) removably connected to the permeable membrane (3); wherein the permeable membrane (3) is sealed with the container body (1) in a sealing zone (6), the permeable membrane (3) being transparent in the sealing zone (6).

It permits to provide a container for diffusing volatile substances with an improved or high-performance membrane that allows at first sight to see that the sealing of the container is correct.

A method of creating a hydrophobic polymer membrane surface includes depositing a polymer material onto a heated carrier, using the heated carrier, transporting the polymer material past an electrode field generator, generating an electric field adjacent the carrier, using the electric field to form a pattern in the polymer material to form a patterned polymer membrane, rinsing the patterned polymer membrane in a first bath, and setting the pattern into the patterned polymer membrane in a second bath.

An oil fence including an oil filtration membrane includes: a floating member floating on a surface of water; and an oil filtration membrane connected to the floating member, allowing the water to pass therethrough, and rapidly collecting materials such as oil or a hazardous and noxious substance included in the water.

An exemplary method includes forming a sacrificial layer along sidewalls of an array of trenches that are indented into a substrate, depositing a fill layer over the sacrificial layer, and then creating an array of gaps between the fill layer and the substrate by removing the sacrificial layer along the sidewalls of the trenches, while maintaining a structural connection between the substrate and the fill layer at the floors of the trenches. The method further includes covering the substrate, the fill layer, and the gaps with a cap layer that seal fluid-tight against the substrate and the fill layer. The method further includes indenting a first reservoir and a second reservoir through the cap layer, and into the substrate and the fill layer, across the lengths of the array of gaps, so that the array of gaps connects the first reservoir in fluid communication with the second reservoir.

A roll-to-roll system for forming a hydrophobic polymer membrane surface includes a heated carrier belt, a repository of polymer material arranged to deposit the polymer material onto the carrier to create a heated polymer, an electrode belt positioned opposite the carrier belt, an electric field generator positioned to generate an electric field between the carrier belt and the electrode belt and to infuse a pattern into the heated polymer to form a patterned polymer film, and a solvent bath to rinse the patterned polymer film. A method of creating a hydrophobic polymer membrane surface includes depositing a polymer material onto a heated carrier, using the carrier, transporting the polymer material past an electrode that acts as an electric field generator, generating an electric field adjacent the carrier, using the electric field to infuse a pattern into the polymer membrane surface, and setting the pattern into the polymer membrane surface.