Embodiments of the present disclosure describe thin-film composite membranes comprising a crosslinked alginate layer on a surface of a porous woven or non-woven support. Embodiments of the present disclosure further describe methods of preparing membranes, methods of manufacturing membranes, methods of separating chemical species, methods of using the membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration, pervaporation, and the like.

The invention pertains to a purification method for a biological fluid comprising at least a filtration step through a membrane obtained from a sulfone polymer [polymer (PSI)] derived from bio-based feed-stocks. In particular the PSI polymer comprises more than 50% moles recurring units (R.sub.PSI) comprising sugar moieties selected from the group consisting of those of formulae (E′-1) to (E′-3):

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The invention further relates to polymer solutions and polymer membranes comprising at least one polymer (PSI) and that are free from pore-forming agents.

A membrane comprising chitosan for use in Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination, or for extracting economically valuable materials from seawater or another highly saline industrial fluid using a thin film composite (TFC) membrane porous support layer comprising chitosan, or for reducing the saline content of one or more industrial or mining fluids for hazardous waste disposal in operations such as desalinization or hydraulic fracturing fracking using a thin film composite (TFC) membrane porous support layer comprising chitosan. The chitosan-based membrane may also be used as part of a dialytic membrane electrode assembly for use in the generation and storing of low across membrane voltages and currents across a salinity concentration gradient.

A membrane comprising chitosan for use in Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination, or for extracting economically valuable materials from seawater or another highly saline industrial fluid using a thin film composite (TFC) membrane porous support layer comprising chitosan, or for reducing the saline content of one or more industrial or mining fluids for hazardous waste disposal in operations such as desalinization or hydraulic fracturing fracking using a thin film composite (TFC) membrane porous support layer comprising chitosan. The chitosan-based membrane may also be used as part of a dialytic membrane electrode assembly for use in the generation and storing of low across membrane voltages and currents across a salinity concentration gradient.

Disclosed herein is a system for recovering carbon monoxide from an industrial by-product gas, the system including a supply unit for supplying an industrial by-product gas containing carbon dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen, a first membrane separation unit including a separation membrane capable of allowing carbon dioxide and hydrogen to permeate, and receiving the industrial by-product gas supplied from the supply unit to allow carbon dioxide and hydrogen to permeate, and a second membrane separation unit including a polymer membrane in which a transition metal is supported, and receiving a gas remaining in the first membrane separation unit to allow carbon monoxide to permeate.

Disclosed herein is a system for recovering carbon monoxide from an industrial by-product gas, the system including a supply unit for supplying an industrial by-product gas containing carbon dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen, a first membrane separation unit including a separation membrane capable of allowing carbon dioxide and hydrogen to permeate, and receiving the industrial by-product gas supplied from the supply unit to allow carbon dioxide and hydrogen to permeate, and a second membrane separation unit including a polymer membrane in which a transition metal is supported, and receiving a gas remaining in the first membrane separation unit to allow carbon monoxide to permeate.

The present invention provides a porous membrane for water treatment, comprising: a high molecular weight polyethylene, a water-soluble polymer and an antioxidant, the high molecular weight polyethylene having an average molecular weight of 1.0×10.sup.5 to 10.0×10.sup.6 and a density of 0.940 to 0.976 g/cm.sup.3; wherein, the weight of the water-soluble polymer is 5 to 50 parts, the weight of the antioxidant is 0.1 to 10 parts, based on 100 parts of the weight of the high molecular weight polyethylene. The porous membrane for water treatment prepared by the present invention has a thickness of 5 to 30 μm, a pore size of 10 to 100 nm, a porosity of 20 to 60%, and a surface contact angle of 30° to 95°. The porous membrane according to the present invention has good durability, simple preparation process, and relatively thin thickness, a uniform pore size distribution and small pore size, good hydrophilicity, as well as good filtration and adsorption effect.

This invention relates generally to a chitosan-graphene oxide membrane and process of making the same. The nanocomposite membrane can filter water and remove contaminants without fouling like other commercially-available polymer-based water filters. The membrane can be used as a flat sheet filter or can be engineered in a spiral filtration module. The membrane is scalable and tunable for many water contaminants including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, and other organic chemicals. The membrane uses chitosan, which is low-cost, renewable biopolymer typically considered to be a waste product and the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth, thus making the membrane an environmentally-friendly product choice.

This invention relates generally to a chitosan-graphene oxide membrane and process of making the same. The nanocomposite membrane can filter water and remove contaminants without fouling like other commercially-available polymer-based water filters. The membrane can be used as a flat sheet filter or can be engineered in a spiral filtration module. The membrane is scalable and tunable for many water contaminants including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, and other organic chemicals. The membrane uses chitosan, which is low-cost, renewable biopolymer typically considered to be a waste product and the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth, thus making the membrane an environmentally-friendly product choice.

Devices and methods related to a chitosan-enhanced melamine sponge are provided. A method comprises grafting chitosan on the melamine sponge matrix via the chemical with two or more carboxyl groups; and crosslinking the chitosan with crosslinker under a heating procedure to make a more robust melamine sponge with a larger surface and smaller pores. The chitosan-enhanced melamine sponge is used to separate chemicals from water as a gravity flow-driven filter, and it can be compressed and backwashed for regeneration.