The present invention relates to a forward osmosis-based separation membrane based on a multilayer thin film, using crosslinking between organic monomers, and a preparation method therefore, and in the preparation of the forward osmosis-based separation membrane including a support layer and a selective layer, a middle layer is provided between the support layer and the selective layer so as to prevent a phenomenon in which the selective layer is filled in a pore of the support layer, such that the thickness of a multilayer thin film constituting the selective layer is optimized, and excellent water permeability, salt removal rate and pollution resistance properties are exhibited through the support layer having a structure of uniform surface pores and minimized pore distortion.

A membrane for purifying a liquid stream includes a porous substrate and alternating layers of positively charged material and negatively charged material adhered to the porous substrate, wherein at least two of the layers of charged materials possess free ion exchange capacity.

Hierarchical porous membranes suitable for use in oil/water separation processes are provided. The membranes described herein are particularly well suited for separating trace amounts of water (e.g., no greater than 3 wt % water content, no greater than 1 wt % water content, or 50-1000 ppm water) from oil in droplets less than 1 um in size. The membranes have a wide range of applications, including deep seep oil exploration, oil purification, and oil spill cleanup.

The present invention provides a separation membrane that is usable at a high temperature and a high pressure. The solvent-resistant separation membrane of the present invention has an average pore diameter of the separation membrane surface of 0.005 to 1 ?m and includes a portion where a degree of cyclization (I.sub.1600/I.sub.2240) as measured by the total reflection infrared absorption spectroscopy is 0.5 to 50.

The present disclosure provides a method for producing a water permeable molecular sieve in which a porous substrate having micron-size pores has deposited on a surface thereof non-porous 2D platelets to seal, at the substrate surface, pores in the porous substrate to form a layer of 2D platelets. A curable sealing material is deposited onto the layer of 2D platelets and any remaining exposed areas of the surface of the porous substrate and curing the curable sealing material in order to form a sealed layer on the surface of the porous substrate to prevent water by-passing the non-porous 2D platelets and passing through the porous substrate. An array of sub-nanopores are then produced through the sealed layer with the array of sub-nanopores having a size to allow water to pass therethrough but not metal ions to give a water permeable molecular sieve characterized by water permeability at low di?erential pressures.

An extracorporeal system for liver dialysis comprises a filter device having hollow fibers with integrated ion-exchange particles and hydrophobic adsorbent particles in the filtrate space. The system can be used for the treatment of acute liver failure and acute-on-chronic liver failure.

A roll-to-roll process and apparatus is disclosed for treatment of a membrane substrate. The apparatus and process processes the membrane substrate in a forward direction using one or more treatment solutions, and then processes the membrane substrate in a reverse direction using other treatment solutions. The treatment solutions used in the forward and reverse directions are preferably chosen so that the treatment sequence is the same in both directions. In this manner, the membrane substrate can accumulate reaction time by repeated processing in forward and reverse directions. t,?

A nanofiber for a filter medium is provided that includes fiber-forming ingredients including polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and an emulsifying agent for improving the miscibility of the fiber-forming ingredients. The nanofiber has excellent mechanical strength and chemical resistance and, at the same time, significantly increased hydrophilicity without a separate surface modification/treatment to/on the nanofiber. A filter medium comprising said nanofiber can exhibit improved flux and filtration efficiency and excellent physical properties in a water treatment process in which a pressure equal to or more than a predetermined level is applied and which requires the filter medium to have high mechanical strength and in a water treatment process which requires chemical resistance as the liquid being filtered is strongly acidic or alkaline. Further, since the nanofiber has significantly superior spinnability, the mass productivity of the filter medium is significantly improved, and the unit costs of production can be reduced.

The present disclosure relates to improved semipermeable membranes based on acrylonitrile copolymers for use in dialyzers for the extracorporeal treatment of blood in conjunction with hemodialysis, hemofiltration or hemodiafiltration. The present disclosure further relates to methods of producing such membranes.

Described herein are nanofibers and methods for making nanofibers that include any one or more of (a) a non-homogeneous charge density; (b) a plurality of regions of high charge density; and/or (c) charged nanoparticles or chargeable nanoparticles. In one aspect, the present invention fulfills a need for filtration media that are capable of both high performance (e.g., removal of particle sizes between 0.1 and 0.5 ?m) with a low pressure drop, however the invention is not limited in this regard.