A device and method for increasing the concentration of an analyte in a fluid sample. The device may include: a housing defining a chamber therein for receiving a fluid sample, a membrane associated with the housing; and a pressure generator operatively connected to the housing to create a pressure gradient across the membrane. When the pressure generator is operated to create the pressure gradient, this causes at least a portion of the fluid sample to move across the membrane. As a result, the fluid sample is separated into a first portion of fluid and a second portion of fluid including said analyte on opposite sides of the membrane. This second portion of fluid by having the analyte present in an amount of fluid that is reduced as compared to the fluid sample prior to the application of pressure - is thus the resulting analyte-concentrated fluid sample.

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum filter that incorporates a large area pleated filter element having pleated hydrophilic membrane configured along slanting surface in pyramid shape and incorporated with in a filter housing that can be accommodated in neck of a filtrate container. The disclosed configuration reduces overall height of the filtering system improving its stability and reducing space requirement. Further, top portion of the filter housing is configured to receive either a feed cup for direct feeding of feed liquid by pouring in the cup or a fitting with tube that can be used to suck the feed from a feed solution container under action of a vacuum thus allowing universal use. In another embodiment, a single hydrophobic membrane is provided to avoid problems of low flow due to bubbles coming with the feed solution and also to allow restart of filtration without air lock.

The single-hand-operable micro water purifier of the present application relates to a micro water filter, especially a micro water purifier which can filter water by means of pressuring. It consists of a micro filter device and a raw water pressurizing device. The micro filter device consists of a filter cylinder body, a filter water inlet, and a filter water outlet and a filter material assembly located in the filter cylinder body. The raw water pressurizing device consists of a pressurizing device water inlet, a pressurizing device main body, and a pressurizing device water outlet. The present application can promote the raw water to enter the filter device for performing the filtration to obtain the clean water, by using a single hand to operate, which not only brings convenience to the user, but also saves labor and improves the use efficiency.

High energy consumption and the negative impacts of hyper saline brine are the two biggest hurdles to a widespread adoption of seawater desalination. Taking advantage of the principal that fluid pressure increases in direct proportion to depth, this invention reduces energy consumption by relocating the process of reverse osmosis at depths where the weight of the water produces the pressure required to drive the reverse osmosis process thereby eliminating the high costs normally associated with raising intake pressure and by simply varying pumping rates, the brine stream can be pre-diluted to levels slightly above the original thereby reducing environmental impact. The simplicity of the design also reduces the costs of building and installation thereby making it likely that seawater desalination will proliferate around the world.

A separation membrane module may decrease a bending load applied to a support member supporting ends of tubular separation membranes and omission of a seal member between the outer circumferential surface of the support member and the inner circumferential surface of a housing. The separation membrane module may include a tubular housing, tubular separation membranes arranged in a longitudinal direction of the housing, end tubes connected to lower ends of the tubular separation membranes, a support box supporting the end tubes, and a backpressure chamber below the support box. The tubular separation membranes may be in communication with a support box collection chamber. A nozzle disposed on the support box may extract permeated fluid. A chamber and the backpressure chamber are in communication via a gap between the support box outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface. The chamber and backpressure chamber have substantially the same pressure.

The invention relates to a process and apparatus for separation of gas mixtures with reduced maintenance costs. The process and the apparatus consist of a feed stream separation stage (1), and a retentate separation stage (2), of which both are membrane separation stages, wherein the first retentate stream (7) is heated to temperature higher than the temperature of the feed stream (5), before it is introduced to the retentate separation stage (2), and the total capacity of the membranes used in the retentate separation stage (2) is higher than the total capacity of the membranes used in the feed stream stage (1).

This publication relates to a method and a system for producing freshwater through a reverse osmosis process in a submerged membrane system requiring a differential pressure over the membrane system. The differential pressure is provided by introducing gas bubbles in the riser device (2) downstream the outlet (7) for fresh water in the riser device (2). The system comprises at least one submerged, reverse osmosis unit (1), with an inlet (4) for water and an outlet (7) for fresh water, a riser device (2) extending from the outlet (7) of the submerged membrane system to at, above or below sea level and a system for providing a low pressure side for the reverse osmosis process.

A feed of at least one of (a) a source liquid including a solvent with a dissolved impurity and (b) a retentate of the source liquid is pumped in a substantially closed loop through a liquid-separation module. The liquid-separation module includes a membrane that passes at least partially purified solvent to a permeate side of the membrane while diverting the impurity in a retentate on the retentate side of the membrane. The purified solvent is extracted from the permeate side of the membrane; and the retentate from the liquid-separation module is pumped to or through a pressurized reservoir with a variable volume for the feed component and recirculated as a component of the feed. Over time, the volume for the feed is reduced and the pressure applied to the feed in the reservoir is increased to balance against an increasing difference in osmotic pressure across the membrane.

A separation system includes first and second separation parts each having a separation membrane and provided with a fluid supply port, a permeate fluid exhaust port, and a non-permeate fluid exhaust port, an intermediate connecting part for connecting the permeate fluid exhaust port of the first separation part and the fluid supply port of the second separation part, a supply pipe connected to the fluid supply port of the first separation part, in which a mixed fluid flows at a pressure higher than an atmospheric pressure, and a pressure reducing part connected to the permeate fluid exhaust port of the second separation part, for reducing a pressure inside the permeate fluid exhaust port to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. A pressure inside the intermediate connecting part is lower than a pressure inside the supply pipe and not lower than the atmospheric pressure.

Provided herein are, inter alia, biological manufacturing and downstream purification processes.