A dehumidification mechanism for an appliance includes a blower that delivers humid process air along an airflow path. A drum is positioned along the airflow path. A condensing apparatus dehumidifies the humid air to define dehumidified air. A membrane has a plurality of nanopores that define a portion of the airflow path within the condensing apparatus. The humid air is delivered along the membrane having the plurality of nanopores and the nanopores operate through capillary condensation to dehumidify the humid air and separate condensate away from the humid air to define the dehumidified air. The condensate removed by the nanopore membrane is delivered away from the airflow path and to a condensate collection area within the appliance.

A method of separately producing tert-butanol and sec-butanol, comprising the steps of introducing a mixed butenes stream to a tube side of a reaction membrane unit, introducing a TBA reactor water feed to the tube side of the reaction membrane unit, introducing a sweep gas to a shell side of the reaction membrane unit, introducing an SBA reactor water feed to the shell side, allowing the mixed butenes stream to contact the tube side of a such that selective gases in the mixed butenes stream permeate through the membrane to the shell side, allowing the selective gases that permeate through the membrane to react with water to produce sec-butanol, allowing retentate gases that fail to permeate through the membrane to react with water to produce tert-butanol, collecting the tert-butanol in a TBA reactor effluent, and collecting the sec-butanol in a SBA reactor effluent.

A gas separation membrane for selective separation of hydrogen and helium from gas mixtures containing carbon dioxide includes a porous support layer, an aromatic polyamide layer on the porous support layer, and a coating including a glassy polymer formed on the aromatic polyamide layer. A glass transition temperature of the glassy polymer is greater than 50 C. The gas separation membrane may be formed by contacting a solution including the glassy polymer with an aromatic polyamide layer of a composite membrane and drying the solution to form a coating of the glassy polymer on the aromatic polyamide layer. Separating hydrogen or helium from a gas stream including carbon dioxide includes contacting a gas feed stream including carbon dioxide with the gas separation membrane to yield a permeate stream having a concentration of helium or hydrogen that exceeds the concentration of helium or hydrogen, respectively, in the gas feed stream.

An altitude simulation assembly for an environmental chamber includes: at least one ambient air inlet; an air compressor downstream of said ambient air inlet for compressing the ambient air; at least one gas separation means downstream of the air compressor for separating the compressed air into hypoxic gas and hyperoxic gas; and, at least one fluid flow control means in fluid communication with the at least one gas separation means, for controlling the flow of hypoxic gas and hyperoxic gas to the environmental chamber. The at least one fluid flow control means is in fluid communication with at least one outlet port for supplying hypoxic gas from the gas separation means to the at least one outlet port, and hyperoxic gas from the gas separation means to the at least one outlet port. The fluid flow control means controls the oxygen concentration of gas to the environmental chamber.

An acidic gas separation membrane sheet causes an acidic gas to selectively permeate therethrough. The acidic gas separation membrane sheet includes a first porous layer, a hydrophilic resin composition layer, and a second porous layer in this order. A second peel strength between the second porous layer and the hydrophilic resin composition layer is less than a first peel strength between the first porous layer and the hydrophilic resin composition layer. An average value of the second peel strength is within a range of greater than or equal to 5 N/m and less than or equal to 500 N/m.

A method of separately producing tert-butanol and sec-butanol, comprising the steps of introducing a mixed butenes stream to a tube side of a reaction membrane unit, introducing a TBA reactor water feed to the tube side of the reaction membrane unit, introducing a sweep gas to a shell side of the reaction membrane unit, introducing an SBA reactor water feed to the shell side, allowing the mixed butenes stream to contact the tube side of a such that selective gases in the mixed butenes stream permeate through the membrane to the shell side, allowing the selective gases that permeate through the membrane to react with water to produce sec-butanol, allowing retentate gases that fail to permeate through the membrane to react with water to produce tert-butanol, collecting the tert-butanol in a TBA reactor effluent, and collecting the sec-butanol in a SBA reactor effluent.

A composite ion conducting tube is made by wrapping a support material or ion conducting sheet to from a tube having overlaps of layers that are bonded. The ion conducting sheet or tape used to make the tube may be very thin and the tube may be formed in situ by wrapping the support material and then coating with ion conducting polymer. The ion conducting tubes may be used in a pervaporation module or desalination system. The ion conducting tubes may be spirally wrapped or longitudinally wrapped and may be very thin having a tube wall thickness of no more than 25 microns.

A porous cylindrical support for use in supporting a zeolite membrane has a generally cylindrical inside surface having a central axis extending in the longitudinal direction and a generally cylindrical outside surface that surrounds the inside surface. A zeolite membrane is formed on the outside surface. A maximum value A and a minimum value B of a support thickness in a circumferential direction satisfy (AB)/(A+B)0.3 in at least part of the support in the longitudinal direction, the support thickness being a radial distance between the inside surface and the outside surface. By reducing a variation in support thickness, it is possible to improve uniformity in the thickness of the zeolite membrane formed on the support.

The present invention relates a process for separating H.sub.2, preferably both H.sub.2 and CH.sub.4, from a gas mixture comprising H.sub.2 and CH.sub.4 by means of a series of selective membrane units that avoids compressors and vacuums as well as an apparatus for carrying out said separation.

A hybrid cooler/dryer that conditions a sample gas includes a heat exchanger, a condensate-removal device, and a membrane dryer. In some embodiments, the hybrid cooler/dryer also includes passive cooling, as embodied by an air amplifier and heat sink, or a length of tubing that exposes the sample gas to ambient temperature. The hybrid cooler/dryer requires no electrical power.