A sensor for the in situ detection of a target chemical species, comprising a gas permeable membrane having a sampling side and an opposing analytical side, wherein the sampling side of the membrane is capable of receiving a sample and the membrane is permeable to target chemical species present in the sample. A weak acid or a weak base is in contact with the analytical side of the membrane, and a conductivity detector is in contact with the weak acid or weak base. In use, target chemical species present in the sample permeate through the membrane and react with the weak acid or weak base, producing ionic species and changing the conductivity.

An asymmetric hydrophobic polyolefin hollow fiber membrane includes a support layer and a separation layer, the separation layer including an outer surface, the outer surface including a quantity of first pores with a certain pore size; presence of the first pores facilitates an anesthetic gas such as sevoflurane and remifentanil to permeate through the hollow fiber membrane into the human blood, allowing for the patient to maintain sedated throughout a surgical process; meanwhile, the first pores facilitate reduction of dosage of the anesthetic in the surgery, thereby reducing surgical costs and avoid overdosage of the anesthetic causing secondary impairment to the patient; in addition, the hollow fiber membrane offers a long plasma permeation duration, a high tensile strength and a high elongation at break to satisfy application needs, particularly suitable for human blood oxygenation including anesthetic gas and the gas-liquid separation areas.

In this disclosure, a process of recycling acid, base and the salt reagents required in the Li recovery process is introduced. A membrane electrolysis cell which incorporates an oxygen depolarized cathode is implemented to generate the required chemicals onsite. The system can utilize a portion of the salar brine or other lithium-containing brine or solid waste to generate hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and carbonate salts. Simultaneous generation of acid and base allows for taking advantage of both chemicals during the conventional Li recovery from brines and mineral rocks. The desalinated water can also be used for the washing steps on the recovery process or returned into the evaporation ponds. The method also can be used for the direct conversion of lithium salts to the high value LiOH product. The method does not produce any solid effluent which makes it easy-to-adopt for use in existing industrial Li recovery plants.

A hydrophobic biofilm membrane modified with a spiropolyurethane may be used for desalination of salt water to fresh water. The spiropolyurethane component of the membrane can produce a hydrophobic spin membrane boundary which attracts saline water, and where the hydrophobic spin membrane boundary can comprise a hinge-like motion for capture of salt molecules via a loose pore-gate spongy membrane surface texture while allowing desalinated water to flow through the porous membrane. The membrane is useful in both reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD) separations, including the desalination.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a dialysis filter comprising fluorine-containing hollow fiber membranes, the fluorine-containing hollow fiber membranes being made by a method comprising at least steps (A) to (C): (A) preparing a spinning solution comprising an aprotic solvent, a hydrophobic base polymer, a hydrophilic polymer, and a fluorine-comprising surface modifying macromolecule in a concentration less than 1.12% w/w; (B) extruding said spinning solution from an outer annular orifice through a tube-in-orifice spinneret into an aqueous solution, and (C) isolating the formed hollow fiber membrane,
characterized in that the manufacturing of the dialysis filter comprises a steam sterilization procedure. The invention is further related to dialysis filter comprising a fluorine-containing hollow fiber membrane comprising a hydrophobic base polymer, a hydrophilic polymer and a fluorine-comprising surface modifying macromolecule in a concentration less than 3.6% w/w, based on the total weight of the fluorine-containing hollow fiber membrane.

Described herein are systems and methods for liquid phase separation for fuel tanks and other vessels. Particularly, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a backpressure regulator configured to open when pressure of a mixture upstream of the backpressure regulator exceeds a predetermined setpoint and a hydrophobic membrane upstream of the backpressure regulator and downstream of a first conduit. The predetermined setpoint may be determined by at least a bubble point pressure of the hydrophobic membrane. Additionally, the backpressure regulator may be fluidically connected to and downstream of the first conduit, and to at least one pump operably connected to and upstream of the first conduit and the hydrophobic membrane may be fluidically connected to and upstream of a second conduit. The backpressure regulator may be fluidically connected to and upstream of a third conduit and the third conduit may be downstream the first conduit.

An apparatus for reducing the alcohol content of an alcoholic beverage. According to one embodiment, the apparatus includes a primary circuit through which the alcoholic beverage circulates, a secondary circuit through which an alcohol extracting liquid circulates, and at least one filter with a gas-permeable hydrophobic membrane, the filter being configured so that one of the sides of the membrane is in contact with the alcoholic beverage circulating through the primary circuit and so that the other side of the membrane is in contact with the alcohol extracting liquid circulating through the secondary circuit. The apparatus also includes an extraction and filling circuit configured to guide the alcoholic beverage from a container to the primary circuit and for guiding the alcoholic beverage, once its alcohol content has been reduced, from the primary circuit to the container.

The invention provides a method of producing multi-walled carbon nanotube blended polyvinylidene fluoride (MWCNTs/PVDF) membranes for membrane distillation (MD) treatment of saline water using non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), said method including mixing two solvents with different solubility parameters and the use of a dual coagulation bath system to control the formation of membrane pore structures and enhance surface hydrophobicity whereby blended PVDF membranes are produced for application in MD processes.

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.

##STR00001##

A nanofiber membrane includes a polymer nanofiber; and an amphiphilic triblock copolymer bonded to the surface of the polymer nanofiber, the amphiphilic triblock copolymer includes a hydrophobic portion; hydrophilic portions positioned at both ends of the hydrophobic portion; and a low surface energy portion positioned at one end of each of the hydrophilic portions positioned at both ends of the hydrophobic portion, and the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer is bonded to the surface of the polymer nanofiber and the hydrophilic portion and the low surface energy portion are exposed to the outside of the surface of the polymer nanofiber. The membrane simultaneously exhibits hydrophilicity, underwater oleophobicity, and low oil adhesion force, thus has surface segregation properties, and as a result, has an excellent oil permeate flux, exhibits antifouling properties, and can excellently separate oil in water.