A dialysis system includes a filtration system capable of filtering a water stream, a water purification system capable of purifying said water stream in a non-batch process, a mixing system capable of producing a stream of dialysate from mixing one or more dialysate components with the water stream in a non-batch process, and a dialyzer system. The dialyzer may be a microfluidic dialyzer capable of being fluidly coupled to the stream of dialysate and a blood stream.

A fluid channel formed with generally triangular-shaped performance enhancement features is disclosed. The fluid channels may be incorporated into heat exchanger or humidifier devices, the performance enhancement features generally having heat transfer and/or mass transfer performance enhancement applications. The heat transfer or mass transfer enhancement features are formed along the inner surfaces of the fluid flow passages of either the heat exchanger or humidifier plates and generally have sharp leading edges that create vortices in the fluid flowing through the passages. The heat or mass transfer enhancements protrude out of the inner surface of the fluid flow passages while leaving the outer surface of the fluid channel free of perforations. Alternatively, heat or mass transfer enhancements may be formed on separate inserts that are affixed to the inner surface of the fluid flow passages. The heat or mass transfer enhancements can be formed in metal plates or plastic plates using a variety of manufacturing techniques.

Disclosed are various turbulent, corrosion-resistant heat exchangers used in desiccant air conditioning systems.

A dialysis system includes a filtration system capable of filtering a water stream, a water purification system capable of purifying said water stream in a non-batch process, a mixing system capable of producing a stream of dialysate from mixing one or more dialysate components with the water stream in a non-batch process, and a dialyzer system. The dialyzer may be a microfluidic dialyzer capable of being fluidly coupled to the stream of dialysate and a blood stream.

Provided is a microfluidic dialysis module including an upper plate having an upper flow path through which a first fluid flows therein formed on one surface thereof, and an upper inlet through which the first fluid flows into the upper flow path and an upper outlet through which the first fluid flows out of the upper flow path; a lower plate having a lower flow path through which a second fluid flows therein, and having a plurality of lower inlets through which the second fluid flows into the lower flow path and a plurality of lower outlet through which the second fluid flows out of the lower flow path; a membrane disposed between the one surface of the upper plate and the one surface of the lower plate and formed in a porous membrane structure; and a fixing member coupling the upper plate and the lower plate.

Hemofilters for in vivo filtration of blood are disclosed. The hemofilters disclosed herein provide an optimal flow of blood through the filtration channels while maintaining a pressure gradient across the filtration channel walls to enhance filtration and minimize turbulence and stagnation of blood in the hemofilter.

Parallel plate devices for hemofiltration or hemodialysis are provided. A parallel plate device includes a parallel plate assembly having an aligned stack of stackable plate subunits, each stackable plate subunit having a through channel for blood, where the blood channels are opened up at opposite ends of the parallel plate assembly. The parallel plate assembly is configured to form filtrate/dialysate channels interleaved with the blood channels, adjacent channels being separated by a silicon nanoporous filtration membrane. A blood conduit adaptor is attached to the parallel plate assembly at each of the ends, and is configured to distribute blood to or collect blood from the blood channels. Also provided are systems and methods for using the parallel plate devices.

A humidifier for transferring water vapour from a first gas stream to a second gas stream in a fuel cell system has a stack of thin plates joined together at their edges by planar sealing surfaces, with water permeable membranes between the plates. Each plate defines a gas flow passage along its top and bottom surfaces, with an inlet and outlet defined along edges of the plate, and a flow field extending between the inlet and outlet openings. Inlet and outlet passages connect the inlet and outlet openings to the flow field, with the planar sealing surfaces including bridging portions extending across these passages. Support structures are provided throughout the flow field to support the membrane and diffusion medium layer(s). Each support structure comprises a porous material which is sufficiently porous to permit gas flow through the flow field.

An compact hydraulic manifold for transporting shear sensitive fluids is provided. A channel network can include a trunk and branch architecture coupled to a bifurcation architecture. Features such as tapered channel walls, curvatures and angles of channels, and zones of low fluid pressure can be used to reduce the size while maintaining wall shear rates within a narrow range. A hydraulic manifold can be coupled to a series of microfluidic layers to construct a compact microfluidic device.

An example separation system includes a stack of membrane plate assemblies. An example membrane plate assembly may include membranes bonded to opposite sides of a spacer plate. The spacer plate may include a first opening in fluid communication with a region between the membranes, and a second opening in fluid communication with a region between membrane plate assemblies. Adjacent membrane plate assemblies in the stack may have alternating orientations such that bonding areas for adjacent membranes in the stack may be staggered. Accordingly, two isolated flows may be provided which may be orthogonal from one another.