The present invention provides a composition for a CO.sub.2 gas separation membrane containing: at least one compound selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal carbonate, an alkali metal bicarbonate, and an alkali metal hydroxide; a crosslinked polymer in which a polymer having a carboxyl group has been crosslinked; and a non-crosslinked polymer obtained by polymerization of one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl acetate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and a derivative thereof.

Disclosed is a method for removing hydrogen sulfide from natural gas. The method includes passing a natural gas feed including methane and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) through a membrane at normal operating conditions. The membrane is an asymmetric hollow fiber membrane or an asymmetric film composite membrane including a porous layer and a nonporous skin layer. The asymmetric hollow fiber membrane or the nonporous skin layer of the asymmetric film composite membrane plasticizes during the method by exposure to condensable gases with high critical temperature under the operating conditions. The membrane preferentially removes H2S over methane from the natural gas feed at a H2S/methane selectivity of from 7 to 40 when measured at 35° C. and 45 bar.

Disclosed is a method for removing hydrogen sulfide from natural gas. The method includes passing a natural gas feed including methane and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) through a membrane at normal operating conditions. The membrane is an asymmetric hollow fiber membrane or an asymmetric film composite membrane including a porous layer and a nonporous skin layer. The asymmetric hollow fiber membrane or the nonporous skin layer of the asymmetric film composite membrane plasticizes during the method by exposure to condensable gases with high critical temperature under the operating conditions. The membrane preferentially removes H2S over methane from the natural gas feed at a H2S/methane selectivity of from 7 to 40 when measured at 35° C. and 45 bar.

A to-be-treated liquid containing oil that is obtained from oil-containing discharged water is treated with an oil-resistant separation membrane to remove the oil.

A to-be-treated liquid containing oil that is obtained from oil-containing discharged water is treated with an oil-resistant separation membrane to remove the oil.

A forward osmosis membrane characterized in that a thin membrane layer having the performance of a semi-permeable membrane is laminated on a polyketone support layer.

The present invention relates to a method for curing adhesives used in the manufacture of membrane modules containing polymeric membranes, particularly polyimide based membranes used for the nanofiltration or ultrafiltration of solutes dissolved in organic solvents using microwaves. To maximise the chemical resistance of the adhesive used in these organic solvent applications, it must be as fully reacted and crosslinked (“cured”) as possible. Typically, thermal processing (heating) of the entire membrane module is used to cure the adhesives. However, the time and temperature required to achieve this high degree of completion of reaction may damage the separation performance of the membrane contained within the membrane module. In one particular aspect, this process utilises microwaves to preferentially promote the curing of epoxy adhesives over the general heating of the membrane module.

The present invention relates to a method for curing adhesives used in the manufacture of membrane modules containing polymeric membranes, particularly polyimide based membranes used for the nanofiltration or ultrafiltration of solutes dissolved in organic solvents using microwaves. To maximise the chemical resistance of the adhesive used in these organic solvent applications, it must be as fully reacted and crosslinked (“cured”) as possible. Typically, thermal processing (heating) of the entire membrane module is used to cure the adhesives. However, the time and temperature required to achieve this high degree of completion of reaction may damage the separation performance of the membrane contained within the membrane module. In one particular aspect, this process utilises microwaves to preferentially promote the curing of epoxy adhesives over the general heating of the membrane module.

The present invention relates to a gas separation membrane for separating a target gas species from a mixture of gas species, the membrane comprising: (i) a porous substrate having a first and second surface region between which the mixture of gas species will flow; (ii) a sealing polymer layer of different composition to the porous substrate that (a) forms a continuous coating across the second surface region of the substrate, and (b) is permeable to the mixture of gas species; and (iii) a selective polymer layer in the form of a cross linked macromolecular film that (a) is located on and covalently coupled to the sealing polymer layer, and (b) has a higher permeability to the target gas species relative to other gas species present in the mixture of gas species that is to be subjected to separation.

The present invention relates to a gas separation membrane for separating a target gas species from a mixture of gas species, the membrane comprising: (i) a porous substrate having a first and second surface region between which the mixture of gas species will flow; (ii) a sealing polymer layer of different composition to the porous substrate that (a) forms a continuous coating across the second surface region of the substrate, and (b) is permeable to the mixture of gas species; and (iii) a selective polymer layer in the form of a cross linked macromolecular film that (a) is located on and covalently coupled to the sealing polymer layer, and (b) has a higher permeability to the target gas species relative to other gas species present in the mixture of gas species that is to be subjected to separation.