Embodiments described herein relate generally to durable graphene oxide membranes for fluid filtration. For example, the graphene oxide membranes can be durable under high temperatures non-neutral pH, and/or high pressures. One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a filtration apparatus comprising: a support substrate, and a graphene oxide membrane disposed on the support substrate. The graphene oxide membrane has a first lactose rejection rate of at least 50% with a first 1 wt % lactose solution at room temperature. The graphene oxide membrane has a second lactose rejection rate of at least 50% with a second 1 wt % lactose solution at room temperature after the graphene oxide membrane is contacted with a solution that is at least 80° C. for a period of time.

This ionic liquid-containing laminate includes a porous layer having affinity with ionic liquids (C), said layer holding an ionic liquid-containing liquid (A) within voids therein, and a porous layer lacking affinity with ionic liquids (B). The porous layer having affinity with ionic liquids (C) may include an inorganic material (e.g., metal oxide particles having an average particle size of 0.001 to 10 μm on a number basis). The ionic liquid-containing liquid (A) may include an ionic liquid containing cations selected from ammonium, imidazolium and phosphonium cations, and anions selected from fluorine-containing anions, cyano-containing anions and amino acid-derived anions. The porous layer having affinity with ionic liquids (C) may include 1 to 100 volume parts of the ionic liquid-containing liquid (A) with respect to 100 volume parts of voids therein. The ionic liquid-containing laminate is easily formable, and is able to stably hold (or fix) the ionic liquid while maintaining said liquid in a liquid state.

This application is directed to new and/or improved MD and/or TD stretched and optionally calendered membranes, separators, base films, microporous membranes, battery separators including said separator, base film or membrane, batteries including said separator, and/or methods for making and/or using such membranes, separators, base films, microporous membranes, battery separators and/or batteries. For example, new and/or improved methods for making microporous membranes, and battery separators including the same, that have a better balance of desirable properties than prior microporous membranes and battery separators. The methods disclosed herein comprise the following steps: 1.) obtaining a non-porous membrane precursor; 2.) forming a porous biaxially-stretched membrane precursor from the non-porous membrane precursor; 3.) performing at least one of (a) calendering, (b) an additional machine direction (MD) stretching, (c) an additional transverse direction (TD) stretching, and (d) a pore-filling on the porous biaxially stretched precursor to form the final microporous membrane. The microporous membranes or battery separators described herein may have the following desirable balance of properties, prior to application of any coating: a TD tensile strength greater than 200 or 250 kg/cm.sup.2, a puncture strength greater than 200, 250, 300, or 400 gf, and a JIS Gurley greater than 20 or 50 s.

Polymer-based membranes and methods for fabricating membranes are described. The methods include forming a casting solution featuring a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based solvent and a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based modifying agent, dispersing the casting solution to form a first element, generating a plurality of active sites on a surface of the first element, and forming a polymer-based membrane by exposing the surface of the first element to a fluorosilane composition to form a fluorosilane layer on the surface, where the fluorosilane composition includes a silane compound having at least one alkyl substituent that includes between 9 and 21 fluorine atoms.

An apparatus and method for filtering a fluid is provided. The apparatus includes a filtration unit having an inlet and hollow fiber membranes. The hollow fiber membranes are each formed from an elongated tube having an exterior surface and an interior surface. The hollow fiber membranes are configured to separate the filtration unit into a permeate side that allows permeate to exit the filtration unit through a permeate outlet and a retentate side that allows retentate to exit the filtration unit through a retentate outlet. The hollow fiber membranes include a coating linked to the exterior surface or interior surface of the hollow fiber membranes. The coating includes a poly electrolyte electrostatically coupled to the charged exterior surface or the charged interior surface.

A microfilter comprising a polymer layer formed from epoxy-based photo-definable dry film, and a plurality of apertures each extending through the polymer layer. A method of forming a microfilter is also disclosed. The method includes providing a first layer of epoxy-based photo-definable dry film disposed on a substrate, exposing the first layer to energy through a mask to form a pattern, defined by the mask, in the first layer of dry film, forming, from the exposed first layer of dry film, a polymer layer having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, the plurality of apertures having a distribution defined by the pattern, and removing the polymer layer from the substrate.

Three-dimensional printing on a membrane of a filtration device is described herein. Forming the filtration device involves receiving a membrane comprising a porous material, depositing an ink into pores of the porous material, causing the ink to solidify, and continuously building three-dimensional printed structures via micro-stereolithographic three-dimensional printing. Solidifying the ink causes the ink to bond with the membrane.

The present disclosure provides a physicochemical water treatment process using a microfiber filter coated with a coagulant, including: a) performing a pressurized filtration by supplying raw water to an upper portion of a pressurized microfiber filtering device including a microfiber filter coated with a coagulant; b) backwashing the microfiber filter by supplying backwashing water and air from a lower portion of the microfiber filtering device; and c) after the backwashing of the microfiber filter is completed, coating the microfiber filter with the coagulant by supplying the coagulant together with the backwashing water, wherein backwashing wastewater of the pressurized microfiber filtering device is concentrated by the suction type microfiber filter coated with the coagulant and transferred to a dehydrator.

It is provided a water-saturated carbon molecular sieve membrane obtainable by a) providing a hydrophilic carbon molecular sieve membrane (CMSM) comprising pores of a pore size from 0.25 nm to 0.55 nm for molecular sieving, pores of a pore size from 0.55 nm to 0.90 nm for adsorption diffusion and a negligible amount of pores larger than 0.90 nm such that a plot of N.sub.2 permeance versus pressure of permeation at room temperature and at a pressure from 1 to 4 bar has zero or negative slope; and b) humidifying the membrane until obtaining a water-saturated carbon molecular sieve membrane. It is also provided a process for the separation of a gas from a gas mixture with such a water-saturated membrane, and its use for solvent dehydration, and as a membrane reactor.

Photocurable compositions and methods of preparation and use of such compositions. More particularly, photocurable compositions useful for forming topographical features on surfaces such as membrane surfaces. Methods of forming topographical features on a membrane surface using photocurable compositions.