Abstract: Dialysis systems and methods for operating dialysis machines (e.g., peritoneal dialysis machines) for conducting dialysis treatments are disclosed. The dialysis system may include a dialysis machine for transferring dialysate to a patient from a dialysate source. The dialysate may flow from the dialysate source through a cartridge or cassette (e.g., a disposable cartridge or cassette) positionable within the dialysis machine. The cassette includes a fluid flow channel. The dialysis machine includes a heating chamber for in-line heating of the dialysate in the fluid flow channel. The fluid flow channel is arranged and configured to provide turbulent flow of the dialysate through the fluid flow channel to provide increased heat transfer from the heating chamber to the dialysate.

Abstract: Polymer-based membranes and methods for fabricating membranes are described. The methods include forming a casting solution featuring a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based solvent and a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based modifying agent, dispersing the casting solution to form a first element, generating a plurality of active sites on a surface of the first element, and forming a polymer-based membrane by exposing the surface of the first element to a fluorosilane composition to form a fluorosilane layer on the surface, where the fluorosilane composition includes a silane compound having at least one alkyl substituent that includes between 9 and 21 fluorine atoms.

Abstract: Composite polyether block amide (PEBA) copolymer tubes incorporate an ultra-thin PEBA layer that enables rapid moisture transfer and exchange through the tube. A composite PEBA film may include a porous scaffold support and may be formed or incorporated into the composite PEBA tube. A porous scaffold support may be coated or imbibed with PEBA to form a composite PEBA film. A composite PEBA film may be wrapped on a mandrel or over a porous scaffold support to form a composite PEBA tube. A film layer may be applied over a wrapped composite PEBA film to secure the layers together. The film layer by applied by dipping, spraying or painting.

Abstract: An extracorporeal blood treatment machine for carrying out a blood treatment including a machine front on which a hollow fiber filter module is arranged in a horizontal position, which hollow fiber filter module includes a cylindrical housing, a blood chamber having a blood inlet nozzle and a blood outlet nozzle and a solution chamber having a solution inlet nozzle extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber filter module and a solution outlet nozzle extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber filter module, the solution chamber being semi-permeably communicated at least in portions with the blood chamber, wherein a height potential is present in the horizontal position between the solution inlet nozzle and the solution outlet nozzle so that drainage of solution is enabled via one of the solution nozzles and evacuation of air bubbles is enabled via an other of the solution nozzles.

Abstract: A nanofiber membrane includes a polymer nanofiber; and an amphiphilic triblock copolymer bonded to the surface of the polymer nanofiber, the amphiphilic triblock copolymer includes a hydrophobic portion; hydrophilic portions positioned at both ends of the hydrophobic portion; and a low surface energy portion positioned at one end of each of the hydrophilic portions positioned at both ends of the hydrophobic portion, and the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer is bonded to the surface of the polymer nanofiber and the hydrophilic portion and the low surface energy portion are exposed to the outside of the surface of the polymer nanofiber. The membrane simultaneously exhibits hydrophilicity, underwater oleophobicity, and low oil adhesion force, thus has surface segregation properties, and as a result, has an excellent oil permeate flux, exhibits antifouling properties, and can excellently separate oil in water.

Abstract: A ceramic filter membrane module enables a fluid to be filtered, such as raw water, with higher efficiency using multiple ceramic filters in a housing. As the diameter of a through-hole located at the center is considerably larger than the diameter of the surrounding flow path, water pressure pushing the raw water is applied from the through-hole at the center toward the outside of a filter body, such that the raw water passes through the filter body smoothly, thereby improving the purification efficiency and uniformly setting the overall flow direction of the raw water. As packing members are installed and fixed between the housing and the ceramic filters, sealing of the incoming raw water and the filtered water becomes more effective, such that the risk of leakage is reduced. As a plurality of ceramic filters are housed in a single housing, economic benefit can be achieved.

Abstract: A filtering device is for obtaining a chemical liquid by purifying a liquid to be purified, and the filtering device has an inlet portion, an outlet portion, a filter A, at least one filter B different from the filter A, and a flow path which includes the filter A and the filter B arranged in series and extends from the inlet portion to the outlet portion, in which the filter A has a porous base material made of polyfluorocarbon and a coating layer which is disposed to cover the porous base material and contains a resin having an adsorptive group.

Abstract: The invention provides a filtration membrane which comprises a porous support and, covalently bonded to a surface thereof, a layer comprising a plurality of vesicles having transmembrane proteins incorporated therein, said vesicles being formed from an amphiphilic block copolymer; characterised in that within said layer, vesicles are covalently linked together to form a coherent mass. The membrane may be prepared by a process which comprises providing an aqueous suspension of vesicles having transmembrane proteins incorporated therein, said vesicles being formed from an amphiphilic block copolymer having reactive end groups; depositing said suspension of vesicles on a surface of a porous support; and providing reaction conditions such that covalent bonds are formed between different vesicles and between vesicles and said surface.

Abstract: Membrane oxygenators useful in a variety of medical situations, including various short-term procedures and relatively longer-term life support, and components of membrane-based oxygenators, such as conditioning modules for exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide during extracorporeal conditioning of blood, are described. A conditioning module includes a plurality of mats of hollow fibers and a potting material disposed throughout the peripheral edges of the mats to create a circumferential seal that defines a passageway through the plurality of fiber mats having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. The circumferential seal defines an effective fiber length for each of the hollow fibers. A resisting member is disposed across the proximal ends of at least some of the hollow fibers and is adapted to resist fluid flow into each of the hollow fibers based on the effective fiber length of the particular hollow fiber.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments in desalination by direct contact membrane distillation present a cylindrical cross-flow module containing high-flux composite hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes. The present embodiments are directed to a model that has been developed to describe the observed water production rates of such devices in multiple brine feed introduction configurations. The model describes the observed water vapor production rates for different feed brine temperatures at various feed brine flow rates. The model flux predictions have been explored over a range of hollow fiber lengths to compare the present results with those obtained earlier from rectangular modules which had significantly shorter hollow fibers.

Abstract: A portable hemodialysis system is provided including a dialyzer, a closed loop blood flow path which transports blood from a patient to the dialyzer and back to the patient, and a closed loop dialysate flow path which transports dialysate through the dialyzer. In addition, the hemodialysis system includes two reservoirs which can be alternately placed in the dialysis flow path using various controllable fluid valves. The weight, and therefore the level of dialysate, of each reservoir is measured by a preferred level sensor having a lever arm, a load cell, and a tilt sensor. The load cell and tilt sensor are electrically connected to a processor for sending force and tilt measurements to the processor. The processor may analyze the tilt measurements to correct for any inaccurate measurements of the load cell caused by the tilt.

Abstract: Composite materials for removing hydrophobic components from a fluid include a porous matrix polymer, carbon nanotubes grafted to surfaces of the porous matrix polymer, and polystyrene chains grafted to the carbon nanotubes. Examples of porous matrix polymer include polyurethanes, polyethylenes, and polypropylenes. Membranes of the composite material may be enclosed within a fluid-permeable pouch to form a fluid treatment apparatus, such that by contacting the apparatus with a fluid mixture containing water and a hydrophobic component, the hydrophobic component absorbs selectively into the membrane. The apparatus may be removed from the fluid mixture and reused after the hydrophobic component is expelled from the membrane. The composite material may be prepared by grafting functionalized carbon nanotubes to a porous matrix polymer to form a polymer-nanotube composite, then polymerizing styrene onto the carbon nanotubes of the polymer-nanotube composite.

Abstract: An electrochemical separation device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a cell stack including alternating depleting compartments and concentrating compartments disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, an inlet manifold configured to introduce a fluid to one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments an outlet manifold, and one or more of a fluid flow director disposed within the inlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the inlet manifold and direct the fluid into the one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments, and a second fluid flow director disposed within the outlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the outlet manifold via one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments.

Abstract: Disclosed is the preparation of composite fluid separation membranes based on poly (aryl ether ketone) (PAEK) polymers with the separation layer formed by a layer-by-layer reticular synthesis. The porous PAEK substrate is semicrystalline, exhibits a mesoporous surface structure, and is surface functionalized. The separation layer formed by the hierarchical layer-by-layer process is in the form of a covalent organic network integrally linked via covalent bonds to the functional groups of the substrate. The composite separation layer may be synthesized in situ in a preformed separation device on the surface of the PAEK substrate. Device configurations include flat sheet, spiral wound, monolith, and hollow fiber configurations with the hollow fiber configuration being preferred. Hollow fibers are formed from PAEK polymers with poly (ether ether ketone) and poly (ether ketone) particularly preferred. Composite PAEK membranes of the present invention are useful for a broad range of fluid separation applications.

Abstract: A virus removal membrane includes cellulose, and a primary-side surface through which the protein-containing solution is to be applied and a secondary-side surface from which a permeate that has permeated the virus removal membrane is to be flowed, wherein a bubble point is 0.5 MPa or more and 1.0 MPa or less; and when a solution containing gold colloids having a diameter of 30 nm is applied through the primary-side surface to the virus removal membrane to allow the virus removal membrane to capture the gold colloids for measurement of brightness in a cross section of the virus removal membrane, a value obtained by dividing a standard deviation of a value of an area of a spectrum of variation in the brightness by an average of the value of the area of the spectrum of variation in the brightness is 0.01 or more and 0.30 or less.

Abstract: A raw water channel spacer capable of suppressing formation of a concentration polarization layer in a region in the vicinity of a separation membrane in a raw water channel, and a spiral wound membrane element including the same are provided. A raw water channel spacer is formed by superposing a first yarn row and a second yarn row, and includes alternately a first mesh structure having a configuration in which first rectangular meshes formed of the yarn rows are continuous in an extending direction of the second yarn row, and a second mesh structure having a configuration in which meshes are continuous in the extending direction of the second yarn row such that an interval in the second yarn row is smaller than an interval of the second yarn row forming the first mesh structure.

Abstract: The disclosed technology includes a membrane-based device configured to concentrate black liquor, which results from papermaking. Certain embodiments may comprise a nanofiltration membrane configured to remove lignin from black liquor, and the nanofiltration membrane may include a first macroporous polymer substrate and a first graphene oxide membrane covering the first macroporous polymer substrate. Some embodiments may comprise a reverse osmosis membrane, which may include a second macroporous polymer substrate and a second graphene oxide membrane covering the second macroporous polymer substrate.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides an electrodialysis stack that may be used for the treatment of an electrically conductive solution. The stack includes two electrodes (at least one is a recessed electrode), a plurality of ion-transport membranes and stack spacers. The membranes and spacers are arranged between the electrodes to define electrodialysis cell pairs. The stack includes an electrically insulated zone that extends substantially from a distribution manifold past the recessed edge of the electrode and substantially from the recessed electrode to the opposite electrode for a distance that is about 8% to 100% of the total distance between the electrodes. The overlap distance that the electrically insulated zone extends past the recessed edge of the electrode is calculated as: distance in cm=(0.062 cm?1)*(exp(?60/total cp)*(area in cm2 of the manifold ducts of the concentrated stream at the recessed edge) +/?10%.

Abstract: Charge mosaic membranes useful for desalination applications, and methods of making and using the same, are described.

Abstract: A method for forming an isoporous graded film comprising multiblock copolymers and isoporous graded films. The films have a surface layer and a bulk layer. The surface layer can have at least 1×1014 pores/m2 and a pore size distribution (dmax/dmin)) of less than 3. The bulk layer has an asymmetric structure. The films can be used in filtration applications.