Elastic microfiltration membranes are provided. These membranes may be used in a membrane bioreactor. Due to the elastic nature of the membranes, removal of fouling materials is improved, thereby increasing the efficiency and longevity of the membranes. Methods for forming such membranes and uses of the membranes are also provided, including their use in membrane bioreactors.

A reverse osmosis apparatus including a reverse osmosis unit having a housing; a cylindrical drum rotatably disposed inside the housing wherein a lateral gap therebetween defines a intervening chamber, and including an outer cylindrical wall and an inner cylindrical wall to define an inner cylindrical feed chamber and an outer annular separation chamber therewithin; and at least one channeling structure defining a permeate channel extending radially from the inner cylindrical wall to the outer cylindrical wall, wherein a first channel end is closed and a second channel end opens into the intervening chamber. The at least one channeling structure including a membrane element extending lengthwise forming a semi-permeable interface between the permeate channel and a feed-flow-region in fluid communication with the inner cylindrical feed chamber. The apparatus including a pump to pressurize the inner cylindrical feed chamber, and a motor to rotate the cylindrical drum for generating centrifugal force.

A gas separation element comprising a membrane sheet and a permeate spacer, wherein the membrane sheet comprises a porous support and a discriminating layer, CHARACTERISED IN THAT: (a) the permeate spacer has an open space volume of at least 0.0004 m.sup.3/m.sup.2; and (b) the membrane sheet has an aspect ratio of at least 1.5.

The present invention provides compact spiral-wound filter elements having cassette-like performance. The invention further provides filtration systems (e.g., TFF systems) and processes (e.g., SPTFF processes) employing compact spiral-wound filter elements having cassette-like performance.

Embodiments of the present invention provide for the deposition of spacing elements for spiral wound elements that prevent nesting of adjacent spacer layers and occlusion of feed space during element rolling.

Described embodiments include a graphene membrane film for solvent purification and related method, and a solvent purification system using same. The graphene membrane film for solvent purification is formed having a plurality of stacked graphene plate-shaped flakes, and at least one pair of the plurality of stacked graphene plate-shaped flakes comprises a physical bond or a chemical bond connecting layers. The graphene membrane film for solvent purification is produced by preparing a graphene oxide dispersion liquid by dispersing graphene oxide in distilled water; confining the graphene oxide dispersion liquid between a pair of substrates; and applying heat and pressure to the graphene oxide dispersion liquid between the substrates to perform a hydrothermal reaction to concurrently thermally reduce the graphene oxide and bind graphenes. Due to lipophilic surface property and fine pores, size exclusion separation and hydrophilic-lipophilic component separation through polarity may be realized, and thus is usable in fine chemistry fields.

The invention relates to membranes, membrane modules, and applications therefor. In particular, the invention relates to the construction of membranes and membrane modules for use in osmotically driven membrane processes.

Embodiments of the present invention provide the integration of arbitrary flow directing patterns, deposited or integrated on or into the porous permeate spacer in a spiral-wound membrane separation element.

A piece of substrate material is formed under heat and pressure against a cavity into a shaped substrate sheet having one or more depressions. Two substrate sheets are bonded together to form a substrate wherein the one or more depressions form one or more interior channels. The substrate, if not formed with pre-coated substrate material, is coated with a dope and quenched to form a filtering membrane. A plurality of membranes may be placed side by side to form a bundle with permeating ends of the membrane, which are open to the one or more interior channels, separated by gaps or spacers. The bundle is connected to a header to produce a module. The module can be assembled into a cassette.

Provided is a filtration device exhibiting a high water treatment capacity and capable of increasing the longevity of a hollow-fiber filter, in a water purification device not requiring a purification material and requiring a high water treatment capacity. The filtration device (3) has: a housing case (15) having a water inlet unit and a water outlet unit arranged on one end side thereof; and a membrane module (17) provided inside this housing case (15). A first flow path (31) for causing raw water that has flowed in from the water inlet unit (21) to flow further to the other end side of the housing case (15) than the membrane module (17), and a second flow path (33) for causing the raw water that has flowed further to the other end side of the housing case (15) along this first flow path (31) to pass through the membrane module (17) and flow to the water outlet unit (23) are provided inside the housing case (15). A spacer (19) is provided on the upstream side of the membrane module (17) in the second flow path (33).