The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a high-performance thin film composite (TFC) membrane through a solvent activation process. In the present invention, by using a mixed solvent of a good solvent and a poor solvent as an activating solvent, a conventional polysulfone-based support-based TFC membrane having high water permeance as well as excellent salt rejection may be manufactured.

An asymmetric hydrophobic polyolefin hollow fiber membrane includes a support layer and a separation layer, the separation layer including an outer surface, the outer surface including a quantity of first pores with a certain pore size; presence of the first pores facilitates an anesthetic gas such as sevoflurane and remifentanil to permeate through the hollow fiber membrane into the human blood, allowing for the patient to maintain sedated throughout a surgical process; meanwhile, the first pores facilitate reduction of dosage of the anesthetic in the surgery, thereby reducing surgical costs and avoid overdosage of the anesthetic causing secondary impairment to the patient; in addition, the hollow fiber membrane offers a long plasma permeation duration, a high tensile strength and a high elongation at break to satisfy application needs, particularly suitable for human blood oxygenation including anesthetic gas and the gas-liquid separation areas.

The present disclosure relates to an ultra-thin polymer separation membrane including: a porous polymer support layer; a gutter layer formed on the porous polymer support layer; and a semi-crystalline polymer selection layer formed on the gutter layer, wherein the semi-crystalline polymer selection layer is coated with a nanometer-level thickness in a state in which the temperature of a semi-crystalline polymer solution is 0° C. to −50° C. Therefore, the crystallinity and orientation of the ultra-thin polymer separation membrane, essentially required for the scale-up of a separation membrane process and the actual application in the industry, can be controlled easily using a low-temperature coating method, in which the temperature of the polymer solution is lowered, during the coating of the selection layer. Furthermore, separation performance can be enhanced remarkably by using only polymers as raw materials, without additional additives that have been used in the manufacturing of conventional ultra-thin polymer separation membranes.

A method of manufacturing a PVDF composite separation membrane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has advantages in that it is possible to control the size of pores in various ways based on the nonsolvent-induced phase transition process and calcination process, and manufacture a porous high-strength PVDF composite separation membrane having high water permeability, and it is possible to manufacture a PVDF composite separation membrane which may exhibit durability that does not damage the membrane even under high pressure, while having heat resistance applicable even at a high temperature of 150° C., and excellent chemical resistance to acids and alkalis, and suppress heavy metal adsorption and biofouling phenomenon, and may allow an organic material to be decomposed by ultrasonic waves or UV photocatalysts. In addition, the PVDF composite separation membrane has excellent mechanical, thermal and chemical resistance properties, suppresses the biofouling phenomenon, and exhibits high ultrasonic reactivity.

Provided herein is a method of forming a bicontinuous intraphase jammed emulsion gel.

The invention is an improved method of making a carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane in which a polyimide precursor polymer is pyrolyzed to form a carbon molecular sieve membrane by heating, in a furnace, said polyimide precursor polymer to a final pyrolysis temperature of 600 C to 700 C at a pyrolysis heating rate of 3 to 7 C/minute from 400 C to the final pyrolysis temperature, the final pyrolysis temperature being held for a pyrolysis time of at most 60 minutes in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. In a particular embodiment, the cooling rate from the pyrolysis temperature is accelerated by methods to remove heat. The CMS membranes have shown an improved combination of selectivity and permeance as well as being particularly suitable to separate gases in gas streams such methane from natural gas, oxygen from air and ethylene or propylene from light hydrocarbon streams.

A process for the preparation of ultrafiltration and microfiltration polymeric flat sheet separation membranes is disclosed, the process comprising a unidirectional cooling step. Membranes prepared according to the process exhibit numerous advantages over ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes prepared via conventional processes. In particular, the membranes prepared by the present process exhibit remarkable pure water flux, superior mechanical properties and increased anti-fouling characteristics. Also disclosed are particular PVDF ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes having improved flux, mechanical and anti-fouling properties.

Processes for manufacturing continuous laterally graded porous membranes are disclosed. Such processes utilize freeze casting techniques with a continuous varying solids loading method to make laterally graded porous membranes. Also disclosed are laterally graded porous membranes.

The invention is an improved method of making an improved carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane in which a precursor polymer (e.g., polyimide) is pyrolyzed at a pyrolysis temperature to form a CMS membrane that is cooled to ambient temperature (about 40° C. or 30° C. to about 20° C.). The CMS membrane is then reheated to a reheating temperature of at least 250° C. to 400° C. to form the improved CMS membrane. The CMS have a novel microstructure as determined by Raman spectroscopy. The improved CMS membranes have shown an improved combination of selectivity and permeance as well as stability for separating light hydrocarbon gas molecules such as C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 hydrocarbon gases (e.g., methane, ethane, propane, ethylene, propylene, butane, butylene).

A method of synthesis for an aluminophosphate-based zeolite membrane includes a steps of preparing a mixed solution with a pH greater than or equal to 6 and less than or equal to 9 by mixing an acidic phosphorous source with an alkali source, a steps of preparing a starting material solution by adding and mixing an aluminum source to the prepared mixed solution, and a steps of synthesizing an aluminophosphate-based zeolite membrane by hydrothermally synthesizing the starting material solution.