The present invention is directed to an electrochemical device for at least partially removing or reducing a target ionic species from an aqueous solution using faradic immobilization, the electrochemical device including at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode with different void fraction and surface area properties, due to differences in void fraction (also referred to as void ratio) of the at least one first and the at least one second electrode, water flows through an electrode with a high porosity, while the aqueous solution does not flow through an electrode with a low porosity. The asymmetry of the electrodes provides a desired voltage distribution across the device, which equates to a different voltage at each electrode, to control the speciation of the target ionic species at the anode and the cathode.

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.

A carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane having improved separation characteristics for separating olefins from their corresponding paraffins is comprised of carbon with at most trace amounts of sulfur and a group 13 metal. The CMS membrane may be made by pyrolyzing a precursor polymer devoid of sulfur in which the precursor polymer has had a group 13 metal incorporated into it, wherein the metal is in a reduced state. The pyrolyzing for the precursor having the group 13 metal incorporated into it is performed in a nonoxidizing atmosphere and at a heating rate and temperature such that the metal in a reduced state (e.g., covalently bonded to carbon or nitrogen or in the metal state).

Systems and methods using: a membrane unit to treat fluids recovered from an oil and gas well are provided. The membrane unit may include a membrane having a porous substrate at. least partially coated with graphene oxide, making the membrane hydrophilic. The membrane separates water from other components within a fluid stream. The membrane unit may include an inlet to receive a fluid stream into the membrane unit. The fluid stream may be pretreated prior to reaching the membrane unit The membrane unit may also include a first outlet in fluid communication with one side of the membrane and a second outlet in fluid communication with the opposite side of the membrane.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a composite separation membrane which is excellent in not only a liquid permeable performance and a separation performance relatively but also a durability and which is particularly useful as a membrane for liquid treatment, and a method for treating a liquid by using the composite separation membrane. The composite separation membrane according to the present invention is characterized in comprising a supporting base material and a complex layer, wherein the complex layer is placed on the supporting base material, the complex layer comprises oxidized metal nanosheets, graphene oxide and an alkanolamine, and at least one of the alkanolamine is present between the oxidized metal nanosheets.

A method for making a graphene membrane includes applying a suspension of graphene platelets in a fluid onto a porous substrate, and applying a pressure differential to force the fluid through the substrate to yield a filtered fluid while retaining the graphene platelets on the substrate. The graphene platelets and the substrate form the graphene membrane.

There is provided a system and method for angstrom confinement of trapped ions. The method including: receiving water molecules and ionic compounds in a first reservoir, an angstrom confinement assembly is positioned between the first reservoir and a second reservoir, the angstrom confinement assembly defining angstrom conduits; and repeatedly applying an electric field across a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode on a same side of the angstrom confinement assembly as the first reservoir and the second electrode on a same side of the angstrom confinement assembly as the second reservoir, the electric field applied such that, when the electric field is applied, positive ions of the ionic compounds are induced to flow through the angstrom conduits, and wherein, when the electric field is not applied, water molecules flow into the angstrom conduits due to capillary forces to confine the positive ions in the angstrom conduits.

A hydrophilic graphitic material is provided that may be formed by heating a graphitic material to a temperature between about 150° C. to about 1400° C. for an extended period of time under an inert atmosphere. Annealing CNT film at 500 to 1400 removes amorphous carbon to produce purified CNT film. The purified CNT film can be further densified with the treatment of alkylphosphonic acid or alkyldiphophonic acid and heating to produce a hydrophilic, densified CNT film which is mechanically robust and does not adhere to other solid surfaces. These films can be used as filtration membranes with superior membrane fouling resistance among other uses.

A membrane is described for purifying or separating hydrogen from a multi-component gas stream such as syngas. This membrane uses a molecular pre-treatment, a transition metal, fluorine containing polymer, carbon fibers and carbon matrix sintered on a supportive screen. The membrane may be a bilayer membrane comprised of a layer containing high surface area carbon and another layer containing lower surface area carbon. Methods for purifying hydrogen are also described.

There is provided a semi-permeable membrane comprising: at least two two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure layers of; and a polyelectrolyte layer between each 2D heterostructure layer of the at least two 2D heterostructure layers. There is also provided a method of preparing the membrane comprising: mixing a 2D heterostructure solution and a polyelectrolyte solution to form a mixture; and vacuum filtering the mixture onto a substrate to form the membrane.