This disclosure relates to CO.sub.2-philic crosslinked polyethylene glycol membranes useful for natural gas purification processes. Also provided are methods of using the membranes to remove CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2S from natural gas.

A polymer composition for producing gel extruded articles is described. The polymer composition contains polyethylene particles combined with a plasticizer and one or more surface tension reducing techniques. In one aspect, the surface tension reducing technique includes adding a filler or chemical component to the polyethylene polymer for increasing wettability. Alternatively, the surface tension reducing technique can be a surface treatment, such as a plasma treatment. Polymer articles made in accordance with the present disclosure can have dramatically increased wettability properties. In one embodiment, the polymer composition is used to form a porous membrane for use as a separator in electronic devices.

An ion-exchange apparatus includes a raw-water tank 1, a treatment section, an ion exchanger and a hydrophilic layer. The raw-water section contains a liquid to be treated with impurity ions. The treatment tank 2 contains a treatment material with exchange ions exchangeable with the impurity ions. The ion exchanger 3 enables the passage of the impurity ions from the raw-water tank 1 to the treatment tank 2 and the passage of the exchange ions from the treatment tank 2 to the raw-water tank 1. The hydrophilic layer M, with a water contact angle of 30° or less, is disposed on at least a surface of the ion exchanger adjacent to the treatment tank 2.

An inexpensive ion-exchange apparatus with an increased ion-exchange capacity has a raw-water tank (1), a treatment tank (2) and an ion exchanger (3). The raw-water tank (1) contains a to be treated liquid. The liquid contains impurity ions. The treatment tank (2) contains a treatment material that contains exchange ions exchangeable with the impurity ions. The ion exchanger (3) enables passage of the impurity ions from the raw-water tank (1) to the treatment tank (2) and the passage of the exchange ions from the treatment tank (2) to the raw-water tank (1). The treatment material in the treatment tank (2) has a higher molarity than the to be treated liquid in the raw-water tank 1.

A super-wet surface is a polypropylene surface, on which a hydrophilic side group is grafted, having a micro-nano structure. The super-wet surface is at least super-hydrophilic and does not contain an initiator residue. The super-wet surface is prepared by grafting, in the absence of an initiator, by means of microwave irradiation, a monomer for forming a side group, on the polypropylene surface, as a grafting base, having a micro-nano structure. In the preparation of the super-wet surface, the molecular weight of polypropylene does not decrease after grafting, there is no residual monomer or initiator residue, and the super-wetting effect of the obtained surface is lasting and stable. The super-wet surface can be used in bonding, spraying, oil-water separation, water treatment, biology, medicine and energy fields.

Polymer-based membranes and methods for fabricating membranes are described. The methods include forming a casting solution featuring a plurality of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, 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.

This disclosure relates to CO.sub.2-philic crosslinked polyethylene glycol membranes useful for natural gas purification processes. Also provided are methods of using the membranes to remove CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2S from natural gas.

A gas separation membrane, a method for making the gas separation membrane, and a method for using the gas separation membrane are provided. An exemplary gas separation membrane includes a polyether-block-polyamide (PEBA) matrix and a cross-linked network including functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles dispersed through the PEBA matrix.

The present disclosure relates to a microporous hollow fiber filter membrane having a large inner diameter and a thin wall. The fiber can be used for sterile filtration of liquids or removal of particles from liquids. The disclosure further relates to a method for producing the membrane and a filter device comprising the membrane.

A reverse osmosis membrane is disclosed that has a hydrogel disposed on its surface, wherein the hydrogel is formed from a crosslinked polyvinylpyrrolidone or a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone. The hydrogel-coated membrane resists fouling by feed water contaminants. The permeate flux rate and salt rejection of the underlying membrane are not negatively affected by the hydrogel coating.