Fluid treatment assemblies comprising a plurality of adjustable tensioning rod assemblies comprising tensioning rods having a tensioning nut and a locking nut threadably attached to the tensioning rods, and methods of adjusting the tension on the assemblies, are provided.

Provided is a filtration module for separating plasma from blood comprising a feeder channel lid, a feeder channel defined by a feeder channel laminating layer having a thickness of less than 5 mil, a filter element in fluid communication with the feeder channel and having a pore size of less than 2 microns and low surface area, and a filtrate take-off port having a dead volume of less than 10 L. Also provided are methods for filtering a blood sample comprising supplying the blood sample to a feeder channel of a filtration module and drawing the blood sample over a filter element of the filtration module in a single pass process configuration to provide a retentate and a plasma filtrate.

The present invention relates to a filtration device comprising: at least one enclosure (1; 1A, 1B; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) defining a longitudinal axis, said enclosure being obstructed at each end by at least one sealing plate (2A, 2B; 2C, 2D), at least one filtration disc (4) that is rotated and at least one spacer (10) placed between each filtration disc (4), said spacer (10) defining an inter-disc space (10A), at least one hollow rotation shaft (3; 3A) that rotates said at least one filtration disc (4), said shaft having at least one port (33) adapted to collect filtrate (11A, 11B), said filtration disc (4) and said spacer (10) being arranged on said at least one rotation shaft (3; 3A, 3B) inside said enclosure (1; 1A, 1B; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D), characterised in that said enclosure (1; 1A, 1B; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) is passed through by said at least one rotation shaft (3; 3A), and said rotation shaft (3; 3A) is driven by at least one separate rotation means (5, 5A, 5B, 5C) on at least one of the ends of said shaft, said rotation means and said rotation shaft being coaxial, and in that the device comprises at least two separate discharge means (13A, 13B) for the filtrate (11A, 11B), said discharge means being located on said rotation shaft outside said enclosure.

The invention discloses a normal flow filtration cassette (1) stackable with like cassettes, said cassette comprising: at least three port conduits (2,3,4); an inlet chamber (5) in fluid communication at least with a first of said port conduits (2); an outlet chamber (6) in fluid communication at least with a second of the port conduits (3); and a filter medium (7) between said inlet chamber and said outlet chamber, wherein said at least three port conduits (2,3,4) are each in fluid communication with a corresponding inlet port (8,9,10) and are each in fluid communication also with one of a corresponding set of outlet ports (11,12,13), and wherein each of said set of inlet ports (8,9 10) is arranged to cooperate with a respective complementary outlet port of an adjacent like cassette when in a stack and said outlet ports (11,12,13) are each arranged to cooperate with a respective complementary inlet port of a further adjacent like cassette when in a stack.

This invention relates generally to a filtration process and apparatus for separating valuable or harmful process liquids from mixtures or slurries that contain such liquids and solid particles. In particular, the invention relates to a filtration process for separating Process Liquid from a feed slurry that comprises a mixture of the Process Liquid and solid particles, the process employing a Sweep Liquid that is less dense than the Process Liquid.

Provided is a filtration module for separating plasma from blood comprising a feeder channel lid, a feeder channel defined by a feeder channel laminating layer having a thickness of less than 5 mil, a filter element in fluid communication with the feeder channel and having a pore size of less than 2 microns and low surface area, and a filtrate take-off port having a dead volume of less than 10 I. Also provided is a method for filtering a blood sample comprising supplying the blood sample to a feeder channel of a filtration module and drawing the blood sample over a filter element of the filtration module in a single pass to provide a retentate and a plasma filtrate.

A filter system (100) for biopharmaceutical processes includes: at least one filter unit (10); and at least one distributor plate (200), against which the filter unit rests. A tubeless distributor unit (202) is arranged within the distributor plate and is fluidically connected to the filter unit. The distributor unit guides the fluid to be filtered to the filter unit and/or receives and discharges the filtered fluid from the filter unit. The distributor unit includes at least one active control element (232; 238), with which a fluid flow (14) through the distributor unit) and the filter unit is controlled in an open loop flow or a closed loop flow. The fluid connection between the filter unit and the distributor plate is tubeless. Also provided are a distributor plate (200) for a filter system (100) for biopharmaceutical processes and a method for producing a filter system (100) for biopharmaceutical processes.

A method of operating a high velocity cross flow dynamic membrane filtration includes feeding a fluid stream into a pressure vessel, in which the vessel defines a treatment chamber containing a disc membrane assembly having a first support shaft and a second support shaft, each support shaft defining a longitudinal axis about which is positioned a plurality of axially spaced membrane discs. The method further includes distributing the fluid stream over at least a portion of the disc membrane assembly. The method also includes discharging a first portion of the fluid stream from the vessel and discharging a second portion of the fluid stream from the vessel. The method additionally includes rotating the first support shaft and the second support shaft in a first direction. The rotating includes modulating a rotation rate in response to the flow rate of the second portion of the fluid stream.

The present invention relates to a novel membrane module for separating a fluid feed stream into a permeate stream and a retentate stream. The membrane module according to the invention is characterized in that all components are housed in a 20, 40, 45 HC, 45 PW or 53 HC container, whereby the membrane module can be transported and handled in a very simple and cost-effective manner despite its comparatively large volume and its high weight. The membrane module is furthermore characterized by its large membrane surface area compared with usually used membrane modules, whereby the number of individual membrane modules required in practical use can be reduced many times over. The present invention furthermore relates to a process for separating a fluid feed stream into a permeate stream and a retentate stream using the membrane module according to the invention.

The present invention relates to a novel membrane module for separating a fluid feed stream into a permeate stream and a retentate stream. The membrane module according to the invention is characterized in that all components are housed in a 20, 40, 45 HC, 45 PW or 53 HC container, whereby the membrane module can be transported and handled in a very simple and cost-effective manner despite its comparatively large volume and its high weight. The membrane module is furthermore characterized by its large membrane surface area compared with usually used membrane modules, whereby the number of individual membrane modules required in practical use can be reduced many times over. The present invention furthermore relates to a process for separating a fluid feed stream into a permeate stream and a retentate stream using the membrane module according to the invention.