Abstract: The invention relates to a membrane that consists of a polymer or a polymer mixture. The aim of the invention is to produce membranes, especially planar membranes or hollow fiber membranes that have an as high a separation efficiency as possible while simultaneously having a high membrane efficiency. To this end, the membrane has a gas- or liquid-permeable bicontinuous foam structure with orifices in the interior whose diameters do not exceed 500 nm.

Abstract: A method of filtering a fluid wherein after filtering a contaminated fluid, which causes the formation of a filter cake, a substantially non-contaminated fluid is fed through the filter cake and filter at varying flux or at varying driving force. At the same time the necessary driving force or the obtained flux, respectively, are measured. The measured value and the respective value setting are compared with at least one standard set of data and on the basis of this comparison the fouling status of the fluid to be filtered, the filter and the filter cake is determined. The method makes it possible to accurately determine characteristics of a fluid to be filtered. This may be realized by simply varying the flux and measuring the driving force at different flux values, or vice versa.

Abstract: The membrane producible by shaping a polymer blend or a block copolymer comprising blocks of monomer units, loading the polymer blend or block copolymer with a blowing gas concentration within the polymer blend or block polymer above a critical concentration at a temperature below a critical temperature, but above the glass transition temperature of the polymer blend/gas or block copolymer/gas mixture and finally stabilizing the foam structure is characterized in that as polymer blend a homogeneous polymer blend comprising at least one hydrophilic and at least one hydrophobic polymer and/or a block copolymer of alternating blocks of hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomer units is used, both the polymer blend and the block copolymer having a solubility relating to the used foaming gas above the critical concentration. The said membrane is used for medical purposes, especially for the haemodialysis, haemofiltration, haemodiafiltration, plasmapherese, immunotherapy, micro- or ultrafiltration or gas separation.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the preparation of porous polymeric fibres comprising functionalized or active particles. By extruding a mixture of one or more dissolved polymers with particulate material a porous fibre is obtained in which the particulate material is entrapped. Extrusion of the fibre occurs under two-step phase inversion conditions. In particular the porous fibres can be used for the isolation of macromolecules such as peptides, proteins, nucleic acids or other organic compounds from complex reaction mixtures, in particular from fermentation broths. Another application is the immobilization of a catalyst in a reaction mixture.

Abstract: Using phase separation technique perforated as well as non-perforated polymeric structures can be made with high aspect ratios (>5). By varying the phase separation process the properties (e.g. porous, non-porous, dense, open skin) of the moulded product can be tuned. Applications are described in the field of micro fluidics (e.g. micro arrays, electrophoretic boards), optics, polymeric solar cells, ball grid arrays, and tissue engineering.

Abstract: The invention relates to a membrane that consists of a polymer or a polymer mixture. The aim of the invention is to produce membranes, especially planar membranes or hollow fiber membranes that have an as high a separation efficiency as possible while simultaneously having a high membrane efficiency. To this end, the membrane has a gas- or liquid-permeable bicontinuous foam structure with orifices in the interior whose diameters do not exceed 500 nm.

Abstract: The invention pertains to a process for the preparation of an organic compound by a condensation reaction in which besides the organic compound other products are formed and one or more of the products formed during the preparation are extracted from the reaction mixture with the aid of a membrane. The reaction is carried out at a temperature above 80° C. and one or more of the products formed during the reaction are extracted from the reaction mixture by the aid of an inorganic membrane with an average pore size of the separating layer of less than 0.5 nm.

Abstract: A spiral-wound, gas-separation membrane module and a gas-separation process. The module and process provide at least partial counter-current flow between the feed and permeate gas streams without requiring a permeate sweep. The counter-current flow pattern can be achieved by appropriate placement of barriers or baffles in the feed channel. Similar modules and processes may also be used for pervaporation.

Abstract: A gas-separation method for controlling vapor emissions. The method employs a spiral-wound membrane module, adapted to provide one or more feed-side baffles in the feed channel. The method may be used to control vapor emissions from a volatile liquid, and is particularly useful to control fuel vapors emitted during fuel transfer operations.