A carbon membrane for fluid separation, i.e., a fiber-form carbon membrane for fluid separation, has protrusions having a height difference of at least 1 μm formed on the fiber surface. In the carbon membrane for fluid separation, adhesion between membranes is inhibited and clogging tends not to occur when a gas mixture containing water vapor is separated. A carbon membrane module for fluid separation that includes the fibrous carbon membrane for fluid separation is also disclosed.

The present invention is concerned with a fibre membrane for use in a Membrane Supported Biofilm Reactor (MSBR) or the like, the fibre membrane comprising a substantially cylindrical sidewall defining an internal lumen from which gas can permeate through the sidewall, and characterised in that at least a part of an outer surface of the fibre membrane is engineered to define at least one biofilm retaining region which acts to retain a quantity of biofilm therein, in particular when the fibre membrane is subjected to a high sheer biofilm control event, such as experienced during a reactor cleaning cycle, for removing excess biofilm in order to prevent clogging of the reactor.

To enhance diffusive mass transfer of solutes, the present hemodialyzer in a cylindrical configuration for hemodialysis comprises a blood compartment having a packed bundle of hollow fibers in a reversibly distensible doughnut configuration on a radial cross-section, and a dialysate compartment having an axial spiral flow converter slidably inserted in a center of the packed bundle of the hollow fibers and an outer circumferential space encircling an outer circumferential layer of the packed bundle of the hollow fibers. The axial spiral flow converter is configured to convert an axial dialysate flow to a centrifugal dialysate flow radially spreading from the center of the packed bundle of the hollow fibers to the outer circumferential space of the hemodialyzer.

A fluid separation apparatus comprising a fluid separation membrane is provided. The fluid separation apparatus comprises a fluid separation membrane extending in one direction and having a cross-section with a closed curve shape, wherein the fluid separation membrane has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 2 mm, and an outer diameter of 60 mm to 360 mm when the cross-section is adjusted to be circular.

Systems and methods can be used to produce fibers with external corrugations, internal corrugations, or both. These fibers can be used, for example, in hollow fiber membrane modules.

Membrane oxygenators useful in a variety of medical situations, including various short-term procedures and relatively longer-term life support, and components of membrane-based oxygenators, such as conditioning modules for exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide during extracorporeal conditioning of blood, are described. A conditioning module includes a plurality of mats of hollow fibers and a potting material disposed throughout the peripheral edges of the mats to create a circumferential seal that defines a passageway through the plurality of fiber mats having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. The circumferential seal defines an effective fiber length for each of the hollow fibers. A resisting member is disposed across the proximal ends of at least some of the hollow fibers and is adapted to resist fluid flow into each of the hollow fibers based on the effective fiber length of the particular hollow fiber.

The invention relates to filtration system (20), comprising a tank (40) filled at least partly with water to be filtered, and at least one filtration module (30), the at least one filtration module (30) comprising at least one filter membrane (10) for filtering the water comprising a substrate (12) which is penetrated by at least one capillary (16), and at least one filtrate pipe (32) for drawing filtered water out of the tank (40), whereat the at least one filtration module (30) is arranged in the tank (40) such that the at least one filter membrane (10) is submerged at least partly in the water to be filtered. The at least one filtration module (30) is designed and arranged such that water to be filtered flows into the at least one capillary (16) and from the at least one capillary (16) through the substrate (12) into the filtrate pipe (32). The invention also relates to a method for filtering water by means of a filtration system (20) according to the invention, whereat the water to be filtered is drawn into the at least one capillary (16) and from the at least one capillary (16) through the substrate (12) into the filtrate pipe (32) and from the filtrate pipe (32) out of the tank (40).

A fluid separation apparatus comprising a fluid separation membrane is provided. The fluid separation apparatus comprises a fluid separation membrane extending in one direction and having a cross-section with a closed curve shape, wherein the fluid separation membrane has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 2 mm, and an outer diameter of 60 mm to 360 mm when the cross-section is adjusted to be circular.

Systems and methods can be used to produce fibers with external corrugations, internal corrugations, or both. These fibers can be used, for example, in hollow fiber membrane modules.

The present invention provides a porous hollow fiber membrane suitable for the removal of minute substances, e.g., viruses, contained in a liquid. The present invention relates to a porous hollow fiber membrane which is provided with a separation-functioning layer containing a fluororesin, has a gas diffusion amount of 0.5 to 5.0 mL/m.sup.2/hr as measured in a diffusion test, and also has foaming points at a density of 0.005 to 0.2 point/cm.sup.2 as measured in a foaming test under the immersion in 2-propanol.