A system for redox polymer electrodialysis includes: a first electrode; a second electrode positioned in opposition to the first electrode; a pair of size-exclusion membranes positioned between the first and second electrodes; an ion exchange membrane positioned between the pair of size-exclusion membranes, the ion exchange membrane defining a feed channel and an accumulating channel between the size-exclusion membranes; and a redox channel containing the first and second electrodes and being separated from the feed and/or accumulating channels by the pair of size-exclusion membranes.

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.

The apparatus for making a nanopore in a membrane generally has an electrode configured to connect to one of two opposing surfaces of the membrane; a conductive tip configured to contact a location of the other one of the two opposing surfaces of the membrane; and a voltage source electrically connected between the electrode and the conductive tip and operable to generate an electric potential across the membrane, the electric potential locally removing material of the membrane at the location to make the nanopore.

A porous membrane and a method for filtering a fluid including particles with the porous membrane are disclosed. The porous membrane includes a macroporous substrate and a mesoporous silica thin film (MSTF) with perpendicular mesopore channels. The MSTF is positioned on the macroporous substrate. The method includes passing the fluid including the particles through the porous membrane.

A battery and a method of fabricating a porous membrane are disclosed. The battery includes an anode, a cathode, and a battery separator. The battery separator is positioned between the anode and the cathode and includes a macroporous substrate and a mesoporous silica thin film (MSTF) with perpendicular mesopore channels. The MSTF is positioned on the macroporous substrate. The method includes the following steps. A polymer film is formed on a marcoporous substrate. A MSTF with perpendicular mesopore channels is grown on the polymer film. The polymer film is removed to form the porous membrane.

This raw-material liquid concentration system is for use in a pharmaceutical product manufacturing process, and employs a membrane-distillation method involving: bringing a raw-material liquid containing a solvent and a solute into contact with cooling water through a membrane-distillation membrane; passing the solvent in the raw-material liquid through the membrane-distillation membrane in the form of vapor; and causing the solvent to move toward the side of the cooling water, wherein the membrane-distillation membrane is a porous membrane that has a water contact angle of at least 90? at the surface thereof, has an average pore diameter of 0.02-0.5 ?m, and has a porosity of 60-90%.

The present disclosure provides an article including an isoporous membrane disposed on a porous substrate. The iso-porous membrane includes a triblock copolymer or a pentablock copolymer. The isoporous membrane has a thickness and is isoporous throughout its thickness. A method of making an article is also provided, which does not require a solvent exchange process. The method includes depositing a composition on a porous substrate, thereby forming a fdm, and removing at least a portion of the solvent from the film, thereby forming an isoporous membrane having numerous pores. The composition contains a solvent and solids including a triblock copolymer or a pentablock copolymer. The article advantageously can be hydrophilic and provides sharp molecular weight cut-offs and high flux.

Disclosed herein is a polymer membrane, film or coating comprising cylindrical polymer fibers at least partially ordered as hexagonal packed cylinders within the film, aligned parallel to the film surface, and present as an H.sub.1 mesophase; wherein the cylinders are crosslinked internally within the cylinders; and wherein the cylinders are spatially arranged to provide channels between the cylinders for fluid flow through the membrane, film or coating.

A method for preparing a nanoporous silica sol-gel matrix containing at least one amine reactant selected from hydroxylamine, methylhydroxylamine, tertbutylhydroxylamine, methoxyamine, tetraethylenepentamine, dicarboxylic acid dihydrazides, particularly adipic acid dihydrazide, and the salts thereof, said method including the following steps: a) synthesising a gel from tetramethoxysilane or from a mixture of tetramethoxysilane and another organosilicon precursor selected from among phenyltrimethoxysilane, phenyltriethoxysilane, a fluoroalkyltrimethoxysilane, a fluoroalkyltriethoxysilane, a chloroalkylmethoxysilane, a chloroalkylethoxysilane, an alkyltrimethoxysilane, an alkyltriethoxysilane, an aminopropyltriethoxysilane and the mixtures thereof, the synthesis being performed in an aqueous medium at a temperature ranging from 10 to 70 C. in the presence of at least one amine reactant selected from among hydroxylamine, methylhydroxylamine, tertbutylhydroxylamine, methoxyamine, dicarboxylic acid dihydrazides, particularly adipic acid dihydrazide, and the salts thereof; b) drying the gel obtained during step a) so as to obtain a sol-gel matrix containing at least one amine reactant.

The present invention relates to a method for recovering a rare metal salt, the method including: an acid treatment step of obtaining a rare metal-containing acidic aqueous solution by bringing a material including a monovalent rare metal and a polyvalent rare metal into contact with an acidic aqueous solution; a separation step of obtaining permeated water including the monovalent rare metal and non-permeated water including the polyvalent rare metal from the rare metal-containing acidic aqueous solution by using a nanofiltration membrane satisfying the condition (1); and a concentration step of obtaining non-permeated water having a higher concentration of the monovalent rare metal and permeated water having a lower concentration of the monovalent rare metal than that of the permeated water in the separation step, by using a reverse osmosis membrane.