Membranes having an average pore size of 5 nm to 5,000 nm and a porosity of 10% or more, said membrane being obtainable by a process comprising curing a composition comprising: (i) a cross-linking agent comprising at least one anionic group; and (ii) inert solvent(s).

The membranes are useful for detecting metal ions and for filtering and/or purifying biomolecules and compositions comprising metal-ions.

Methods of producing an ion exchange membrane support are disclosed. The methods include saturating a polymeric microporous substrate with a charged monomer solution comprising at least one functional monomer, a cross-linking agent, and an effective amount of at least one photopolymerization initiator and polymerizing the at least one functional monomer by exposing the saturated polymeric microporous substrate to ultraviolet light under conditions effective to cross-link the at least one functional monomer and produce the ion exchange membrane support. Methods of producing a monovalent selective ion exchange membrane are also disclosed. The methods include functionalizing an exterior surface of the ion exchange membrane support with a charged compound layer, drying the ion exchange membrane support and soaking the ion exchange membrane support in a solution comprising an acid or a base for an amount of time effective to produce the monovalent selective ion exchange membrane.

An electrochemical cell comprising a membrane electrode assembly and a selectively permeable barrier layer comprising sulfonated polymer is disclosed. The selectively permeable barrier layer is arranged facing at least one electrocatalyst layer, e.g., anode or cathode. The sulfonated polymer layer aids in controlling the movement of fluids and/or their constituents into and out of the electrochemical cell assembly for separation or capture for subsequent use.

A single piece-type bipolar film roll with a mesh cloth support and a manufacturing method therefor. The single piece-type bipolar film roll is supported by a high-strength ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene mesh cloth, one side of the single piece-type bipolar film roll is a cation exchange layer containing a benzenesulfonic acid group, the other side of the single piece-type bipolar roll is an anion exchange layer containing a benzyl dimethyl butyl ammonium quaternary amino group, and the middle is a water dissociation catalyst layer containing a benzyl methyl butyl amine tertiary amino group, and the three layers form the single piece-type bipolar film roll. By providing a wider protective film and a narrower spacing film, a dipping and absorbing film roll is polymerized to prepare a composite base film roll which is then subjected to continuous sulfonation to prepare a single-sided sulfonated composite positive film roll, and then the unreacted blank side is sequentially subjected to three-step chemical reactions such as complete chloromethylation, complete tertiary amination and incomplete methylation, so as to prepare a single piece-type bipolar film roll having a compact structure, a clear middle interface, a high mechanical strength and a stable quaternary amino group, and the product qualification rate is high; and the single piece-type bipolar film roll is suitable for a bipolar film electrodialysis engineering application of an organic material-containing system.

The present disclosure describes membrane compositions and methods for preparing membrane compositions. In particular, the methods employ a layer-by-layer approach to membrane preparation. The membrane compositions provide significantly enhanced membrane performance over existing commercial membranes, particularly in terms of permeability and selectivity.

Rapid evaporation of water for desalination and dewatering using nanobubbles and micro-droplets is disclosed. Warm nanobubbles of air are injected into seawater or another water source to be treated, and the normal stasis of the nanobubbles is disrupted with ultrasonic energy. The nanobubbles implode and violently recombine into microbubbles. Energized by the effects of the nanobubble state change, these energetic, relatively high surface area microbubbles bubbles quickly rise to the surface of the water, creating an aerosol of micro-water droplets above the surface that is drawn into a dry, warm stream of air and rapidly evaporates, precipitating out salt crystals. The air is then cooled with a chiller, condensing the moisture in the air into fresh water.

A method of encapsulating an engineered pellet in a porous membrane is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: (i) dissolving a membrane solute in a membrane solvent to produce a membrane solution; (ii) applying the membrane solution to a pellet to form a pellet encapsulated with the membrane solution; (iii) subjecting the membrane solution that encapsulates the pellet to a phase inversion and; (iv) drying the pellet to form a porous membrane encapsulated pellet. A porous membrane encapsulated pellet is also described.

A high-flux composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane with an electrical double layer (EDL) and a preparation method thereof are provided. The high-flux composite NF membrane includes: a charged support membrane and a charged separation layer, where a charge carried by the support membrane or the separation layer is a positive charge, a negative charge, or an amphiprotic charge. The high-flux composite NF membrane with an EDL solves the technical problem that the composite NF membrane in the prior art has an unsatisfactory retention rate and a limited application range due to a small charge quantity.

A method of making a filter, the resulting filter, and a method of using the filter to filter proteins from solution are described. The method includes contacting a porous, polymeric substrate with a transfer liquid comprising a solvent(s) and a charged polymeric solute. The transfer liquid and the polymeric substrate have a Hansen Solubility Parameter (“HSP”) distance of from about 10 to about 35. Contacting the polymeric substrate with the transfer solution causes the polymeric substrate to accept the charged polymeric solute by diffusion transfer, thereby yielding a functionalized filter medium. Removal of the transfer liquid from the polymeric substrate traps the charged polymeric solute on the surface of the polymeric substrate.

The invention relates to porous polymeric cellulose prepared via cellulose crosslinking. The porous polymeric cellulose can be incorporated into membranes and/or hydrogels. In preferred embodiments, the membranes and/or hydrogels can provide high dynamic binding capacity at high flow rates. Membranes and/or hydrogels comprising the porous polymeric cellulose are particularly suitable for filtration, separation, and/or functionalization media.