Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for polystyrene-b-polyethylene oxide (PS-b-PEO) block copolymer nanoporous membranes, methods of making a PS-b-PEO block copolymer nanoporous membrane, methods of using PS-b-PEO block copolymer nanoporous membranes, and the like.

Provided is a method for filtering an additive-containing liquid that can achieve a polishing composition exhibiting excellent defect reducing capability while maintaining a practical filter life. The method for filtering a polishing additive-containing liquid provided by the present invention includes the step of: filtering the polishing additive-containing liquid with a filter that satisfies the following conditions (1) and (2). (1) The average pore diameter P measured by a palm porometer is 0.15 μm or less. (2) The pore diameter gradient (S.sub.in/S.sub.out), which is the ratio of the inlet-side average pore diameter (SO to the outlet-side average pore diameter (S.sub.out), both diameters being measured through observation with an SEM, is 3 or less.

The present invention includes a treatment system and methods for removing waste or other agents from a fluid stream, the system comprising: an inlet flow path for receiving a fluid stream from a source outside the treatment system; a vessel for containing the fluid stream, the vessel comprising a permeable filter configured for biological and physical treatment of the fluid stream, the filter comprising one or more nano-thin film or polymer composite layers of carbon materials assembled in sp2 hybridized structures comprising carbon-carbon bonds, wherein the waste or agent is removed as it flows through pores in the film composite; and a drain fluidly connected to the vessel for discharging treated fluid stream from the vessel from which the waste or agents have been removed.

Methods of making blended, isoporous, asymmetric (graded) films (e.g. ultrafiltration membranes) comprising two or more chemically distinct block copolymers and blended, isoporous, asymmetric (graded) films (e.g. ultrafiltration membranes) comprising two or more chemically distinct block copolymers. The generation of blended membranes by mixing two chemically distinct block copolymers in the casting solution demonstrates a pathway to advanced asymmetric block copolymer derived films, which can be used as ultrafiltration membranes, in which different pore surface chemistries and associated functionalities can be integrated into a single membrane via standard membrane fabrication, i.e. without requiring laborious post-fabrication modification steps. The block copolymers may be diblock, triblock and/or multiblock mixes and some block copolymers in the mix may be functionally modified. Triblock copolymers comprising a reactive group (e.g., sulfhydryl group) terminated block and films comprising the triblock copolymers.

Membranes comprising first and second microporous surfaces, and, a porous bulk between the surfaces, the bulk comprising first and second regions; the first region comprising a first set of pores having outer rims, and having controlled pore size, and a second set of pores connecting the outer rims of the first set of pores, the second set of pores having a controlled pore size, and a polymer matrix supporting the first set of pores; the second region comprising a third set of pores having outer rims, and having a controlled pore size, and a fourth set of pores connecting the outer rims of the third set of pores, the fourth set of pores having a controlled pore size, and a polymer matrix supporting the third set of pores; and methods of making and using the membranes, are disclosed.

The present invention is directed to asymmetric membranes and methods for making such membranes, wherein the membranes have a void volume and nanoparticles located in the void volume. The membranes have a variety of applications, including blood purification, water purification, water decontamination and bioprocessing.

A membrane having a first outer surface having a plurality of pores in a skin layer and the plurality of pores having a closed perimeter in the skin layer. The membrane having a second outer surface and a porous supporting layer connecting the first outer surface to the second outer surface. The first outer surface of the membrane is a melt-fused skin layer from exposure to ultra-violet light.

Fluid reactors include a sealed housing enclosing a reactor core that includes at least one substrate-free multichannel reactor core element. Each reactor core element is made from a non-substrate mounted, open pore cellular network material having an asymmetric, tortuous, bi-continuous two-phase material structure and contains multiple perforating fluid channels. Multiple reactor core elements can be serially and/or parallelly piped in a sealed manner to form a reactor core for a fluid reactor with a higher production capacity.

Provided are a hydrophilic porous membrane including a porous membrane and a hydroxyalkyl cellulose retained in the porous membrane, in which the average pore size differs between two surfaces of the porous membrane, the hydroxyalkyl cellulose distributed in the thickness direction of the hydrophilic porous membrane exhibits two or more peaks of detection intensity in GPC, and the weight-average molecular weight Mw.sub.min of the peak that is detected latest among the above-mentioned peaks is less than 100,000; and a method for producing a hydrophilic porous membrane, the method including separately preparing a hydrophilizing liquid including a hydroxyalkyl cellulose having a smaller weight-average molecular weight and a hydrophilizing liquid including a hydroxyalkyl cellulose having a larger weight-average molecular weight, and applying each of the hydrophilizing liquids on two surfaces of the porous membrane or sequentially on one surface thereof.

Disclosed herein are systems, devices, and methods for flowing fluid for radially expanded particle distribution within a laminar flow. In some variations, a system for cultivating tissue may comprise a bioreactor comprising an inlet, a substrate arranged in the bioreactor, and a diffusion module configured to transfer fluid from the inlet to the substrate. The diffusion module may comprise a porous material having at least one tortuous conduit extending between a first surface of the porous material and a second surface of the porous material.