A reverse osmosis system and a method of operating the same includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing has a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine away from the first pump portion.

An apparatus for extracting a material from a liquid includes a concentration stage having a filter, a first path from the filter, and a second path from the filter. Under this configuration, the concentration stage accepts an initial liquid volume. A first liquid not having material collected by the filter is passed along the first path, and concentrated liquid having material therein, which is entrapped by the filter, is directed to the second path. The apparatus also includes an aerosolizing stage coupled to the concentration stage that converts the concentrated liquid into an aerosol and a drying stage that dries the aerosol such that material extracted from the aerosol onto a material substrate.

A reverse osmosis filtration system includes a set of two or more reverse osmosis pressure vessels coupled in series, each pressure vessel having one or more reverse osmosis membrane elements, a feed inlet, a retentate outlet, a permeate outlet. The pressure vessels are coupled so that each successive pressure vessel has (a) its feed inlet coupled to the retentate outlet of its preceding pressure vessel and (b) its permeate outlet coupled to the permeate outlet of its preceding pressure vessel. The permeate outlet of at least one pressure vessel includes a front permeate outlet and the permeate outlet of at least one other pressure vessel includes a back permeate outlet. The back permeate outlet of one pressure vessel is coupled to the front permeate outlet of a successive pressure vessel.

The present disclosure provides cassettes for use in automated cell engineering systems that include cell concentration filters for reducing fluid volume of a cell sample during or following automated processing. The disclosure also provides methods of concentrating a cell population, as well as automated cell engineering systems that can utilize the cassettes and carry out the methods.

A reverse osmosis system and a method of operating the same includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing has a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine away from the first pump portion.

A water purification system includes a tank which stores permeate during periods of standby during which impurities can migrate across a filtration membrane, resulting in impure water on the downstream side of the membrane. During an initial portion of a water draw immediately following a period of standby, the impure water on the downstream side of the membrane is used as a motive fluid to force the permeate out of the tank for delivery to the faucet. Permeate is provided on a continuous bases directly from the membrane to the faucet after the tank is depleted of permeate. The system includes a control system and a plurality of valves to recycle the impure water used as a motive fluid to the membrane to produce permeate. At the conclusion of a water draw, the tank is filled with permeate and the system enters a period of standby until the next water draw.

The invention relates to methods of production of a silica concentrate from geothermal fluids. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to the production of a colloidal silica concentrate, colloidal silica or precipitated silica from high temperature geothermal fluids by ultrafiltration to produce size-specific silica colloids and step-wise concentration of silica to avoid precipitation or gelling.

A method for producing a product related to the specified technology includes adjusting the concentration of cells in a culture vessel to a value of from 310.sup.7 cells/ml to 310.sup.8 cells/ml; in a case in which the average diameter of single cells in the culture vessel is designated as A, adjusting the number proportion of cells having a single cell diameter of 1.4A or greater in the culture vessel to 5% or less, and adjusting the number proportion of cells having a single cell diameter in the range of AA/7 to 50% or more.

This disclosure provides water processing apparatuses, systems, and methods for recovering purified water and concentrated brine from wastewater. The water processing apparatuses, systems, and methods utilize ionomer membrane technology to separate water vapor from volatiles of a wastewater stream. The wastewater stream is evaporated into a gas stream including water vapor and volatiles of the wastewater stream in an evaporation container. The gas stream is delivered to a water separation module spatially separated from and fluidly coupled to the evaporation container. The water vapor of the gas stream is separated out in the water separation module while the volatiles are rejected. The water vapor can be collected into purified water while concentrated brine from the wastewater stream is left behind in the evaporation container.

A conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant is upgraded by adding one or more of a membrane filtration unit, a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) unit, and a screen. The membrane filtration unit is added between a process tank and the secondary clarifier. The membrane filtration unit extracts treated effluent at a rate up to 25% of the influent flow rate. The plant is not converted into a membrane bioreactor (MBR) since the MLSS concentration is still less than 4,000 mg/L. The membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) unit is added to a process tank of the plant and provides attached growth biological treatment. The screen extracts solids from water flowing to the process tanks. When optionally used in combination, the added units and processes increase the capacity of the primary separation, biological processing and secondary separation functions of the plant. The influent flow rate may be increased.