5154results about "Ultrafiltration" patented technology

A vacuum filtration apparatus (900) for detecting microorganisms and particulates in liquid samples. The apparatus includes a base (901), an absorbent pad (991), a filter (990), a funnel (930), and a lid (960). The funnel is releasably attached to the base, and may contain an integral flexible seal for releasably sealing the filter to the base. The outer wall of the lid may be segmented to make it flexible, this flexibility allows it to be releasably attached to the funnel or the base. The apparatus is designed so that any funnel will fit any base, and any lid will fit any base or any funnel when all parts are manufactured to normal tolerances. The apparatus may be configured to to keep the filter wrinkle free in both the dry and wet states.

This invention discloses a cost-effective process for separating contaminants and a wide-range of fouling material from surface water, ground water and from industrial effluents. Having undergone effective pre-treatment, the water can be purified further by using high-surface area spirally wound micro-filtration (MF), ultra-filtration (UF), nano-filtration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. High-quality potable water free from pathogen and other contaminants is thus produced at low-cost from the pre-treated surface water and ground-water. Conversely, pre-treated industrial effluents are further purified at a relatively low-cost using NF or RO membranes, thus producing water suitable for recycle or surface discharge. The process of this invention uses cationic inorganic and/or polymeric flocculants to coagulate and flocculate the water-borne colloidal matter (e.g. clays, iron hydroxides, naturally occurring matter (NOM's), etc.), followed by filtration using a multi-media filter, charge neutralization and reversal and final filtration using a 5-micron cartridge filter. These pre-treatment steps provides a good quality water having a low Silt Density Index and a significant negative zeta potential, thereby ensuring against irreversible chemical fouling of the spirally-wound membranes.

A process for purifying 1,3-propanediol from the fermentation broth of a cultured E. coli that has been bioengineered to synthesize 1,3-propanediol from sugar is provided. The basic process entails filtration, ion exchange and distillation of the fermentation broth product stream, preferably including chemical reduction of the product during the distillation procedure. Also provided are highly purified compositions of 1,3-propanediol.

A multipurpose hemofiltration system (10) and method are disclosed for the removal of fluid and/or soluble waste from the blood of a patient. The system (10) continuously monitors the flow rates of drained fluid, blood, and infusate. When necessary, the pumping rates of the infusate, drained fluid and blood are adjusted to remove a preselected amount of fluid from the blood in a preselected time period. A supervisory controller (160) can monitor patient parameters, such as heart rate (120) and blood pressure (130), and adjust the pumping rates accordingly. The supervisory controller (160) uses fuzzy logic to make expert decisions, based upon a set of supervisory rules, to control each pumping rate to achieve a desired flow rate and to respond to fault conditions. An adaptive controller (162) corrects temporal variations in the flow rate based upon an adaptive law and a control law.

The present invention relates to the field of fluid dynamics. More specifically, this invention relates to methods and apparatus for conducting densely packed, independent chemical reactions in parallel in a substantially two-dimensional array. Accordingly, this invention also focuses on the use of this array for applications such as DNA sequencing, most preferably pyrosequencing, and DNA amplification.

PCT No. PCT/AU96/00144 Sec. 371 Date Jan. 12, 1998 Sec. 102(e) Date Jan. 12, 1998 PCT Filed Mar. 15, 1996 PCT Pub. No. WO96/28236 PCT Pub. Date Sep. 19, 1996A method and apparatus for determining the fouling effect of a feedstream on a filter having known characteristics disclosed. The method comprises passing the feedstream through a filter (5) having known characteristics; determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals and from this data, calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of the fouling characteristics of the feedstream with respect to the filter. A method and apparatus for monitoring the operation of a filtration system is also disclosed the method comprising sampling system parameter values at selected locations within the filtration system at a predetermined sampling rate; generating a parameter profile characteristic from the sampled parameter values at predetermined intervals of time; and analysing the parameter profile characteristic to determine correct operation of the filtration system. A further method and apparatus of monitoring and controlling a filtering system based on backwash efficiency is also disclosed, the method comprising determining resistance values of filtering elements used in the filtering system at predetermined times during the backwash cycle of the system by monitoring a number of operating parameters of the system; calculating a backwash efficiency value representative of the efficiency of the backwash cycle of the filtering system using the resistance values determined; and controlling the operation of the filtering system in dependence on the value of the backwash efficiency calculated.

The present invention is directed to novel systems for conducting the filtration of blood using manifolds. The manifolds integrate various sensors and have fluid pathways formed therein to direct fluids from various sources through the requisite blood filtration or ultrafiltration system steps.

The present invention provides a nanostructured device comprising a substrate including nanotroughs therein; and a lipid bilayer suspended on or supported in the substrate. A separation method is also provided comprising the steps of supporting or suspending a lipid bilayer on a substrate; wherein the substrate comprises nanostructures and wherein the lipid bilayer comprises at least one membrane associated biomolecule; and applying a driving force to the lipid bilayer to separate the membrane associated biomolecule from the lipid bilayer and to drive the membrane associated biomolecule into the nanostructures.

A fluid separation and delivery apparatus and method are provided for filtering a fluid from a source and delivering a filtrate derived therefrom to a first destination, and delivering a decantate derived therefrom to a second destination. The fluid separation and delivery apparatus for the method comprises a filter device having an inlet port for connecting to a fluid source, a first outlet port for directing filtrate to a first destination, and a second outlet port for directing decantate to a second destination; an inlet pump connected between the inlet port of the filter device and the fluid source for pumping fluid at a flow rate of Q_in into the filter device; and an outlet pump connected between the second outlet port of the filter device and the second destination for pumping fluid at a flow rate of Q_out out of the filter device to the second destination. The outlet pump and the inlet pump are sized and controlled so that Q_out is less than Q_in, and so that the resulting flow rate of filtrate Q_r from the filter device through the first outlet port to the first destination is equal to Q_in−Q_out.

The present invention provides microfluidic devices and methods for using the same. In particular, microfluidic devices of the present invention are useful in conducting a variety of assays and high throughput screening. Microfluidic devices of the present invention include elastomeric components and comprise a main flow channel; a plurality of branch flow channels; a plurality of control channels; and a plurality of valves. Preferably, each of the valves comprises one of the control channels and an elastomeric segment that is deflectable into or retractable from the main or branch flow channel upon which the valve operates in response to an actuation force applied to the control channel.

The present invention recognizes that diagnosis and prognosis of many conditions can depend on the enrichment of rare cells from a complex fluid sample. In particular, the enrichment of fetal cells from maternal samples, such as maternal blood samples, can greatly aid in the detection of fetal abnormalities or a variety of genetic conditions. In addition, the present invention recognizes that the enrichment of rare malignant cells from patient samples, can aid in diagnosis, prognosis, and development of therapeutic modalities for patients. The invention includes microfabricated filters for filtering fluid samples and methods of enriching rare cells of fluid samples using microfabricated filters of the present invention. The invention also includes solutions for the selective sedimentation of red blood cells (RBCs) from a blood sample and methods of using selective RBC sedimentation solutions for enriching rare cells of a fluid sample. Yet another aspect of the invention is an automated system for processing a fluid sample that includes: at least one filtration chamber that includes a microfabricated filter; automated means for directing fluid flow through at least one filtration chamber of the automated system, and means for collecting enriched rare cells. The present invention also includes methods of using automated systems for separating rare cells from fluid samples. Preferred fluid samples are blood, effusion, or urine samples, and rare cells that can be enriched from such sample include nucleated red blood cells and cancer cells.

A vertical skein of "fibers", opposed terminal portions of which are held in headers unconfined in a modular shell, is aerated with a gas-distribution means which produces a mass of bubbles serving the function of a scrub-brash for the outer surfaces of the fibers. The membrane device is surprisingly effective with relatively little cleansing gas, the specific flux through the membranes reaching an essentially constant relatively high value because the vertical deployment of fibers allows bubbles to rise upwards along the outer surfaces of the fibers. Further, bubbles flowing along the outer surfaces of the fibers make the fibers surprisingly resistant to being fouled by build-up of deposits of inanimate particles or microorganisms in the substrate provided that the length of each fiber is only slightly greater than the direct center-to-center distance between opposed faces of the headers, preferably in the range from at least 0.1% to about 5% greater. For use in a large reservoir, a bank of skeins is used with a gas distributor means and each skein has fibers preferably >0.5 meter long, which together provide a surface area >10 m2. The terminal end portions of fibers in each header are kept free from fiber-to-fiber contact with a novel method of potting fibers.

A membrane filter apparatus includes a membrane unit 50 composed of an array of membrane elements 51 disposed within a treatment tank 31. A skirt element 71 is disposed at a bottom portion of the membrane unit and an aerator 61 is disposed under the skirt. A partition is also disposed at the bottom of the membrane unit forming compartments within the skirt element. The gas bubbles discharged from the aerator increase their rising force upon entry into gaps between the membranes. Because of the arrangement of the partition within the skirt element the flow rate of bubbles along the opposite side edge portions of the membrane unit can be increased having the advantage of cleaning the entire surface of each membrane, thereby preventing clogging by sludge, SS, colloid, etc. within the gaps between the membranes. Therefore, filtration can be maintained over a longer period of time and the power required for filtration can be reduced, as well as, the frequency of manual periodic cleaning, chemical cleaning, etc.

Systems, methods, and devices for preparation of purified water and medicaments for various uses including blood treatment are described. Methods, devices, and systems for creating multiple-treatment batches are described.

A process for producing and recovering light alcohols, particularly ethanol, alcohol mixtures containing ethanol, and ABE mixtures (alcohol mixtures containing acetone, butanol and ethanol), using a combination of steps including fermentation, first membrane separation, dephlegmation and dehydration by second membrane separation.

A method of monitoring the daily operating performance parameters for water treatment processes through the collection of localized data. The data is manipulated to generate preconfigured performance, maintenance, and quality assurance reports and further provide automatic submission of data as required for regulatory review of certain water treatment systems such as potable water treatment. The data is collected from sensors located at an equipment site and transferred to a remote computer located by use of the Internet, further all data received and used for generation of reports is also accessible by Internet connection and be delivered directly to the regulatory agency without additional process.

The present invention provides a positively charged microporous membrane having a protein binding capacity about 25 mg/ml or greater comprising a hydrophilic porous substrate and a crosslinked coating that provides a fixed positive charge to the membrane. The present invention further provides a positively charged microporous membrane comprising a porous substrate and a crosslinked coating comprising pendant cationic groups. The membranes of the present invention find use in a variety of applications including ion-exchange chromatography, macromolecular transfer, as well as detection, filtration and purification of biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, endotoxins, and the like.

The present invention recognizes that diagnosis and prognosis of many conditions can depend on the enrichment of rare cells, especially tumor cells, from a complex fluid sample such as a blood sample. In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and compositions for detecting a non-hematopoietic cell, e.g., a non-hematopoietic tumor cell, in a blood sample via, inter alia, removing red blood cells (RBCs) from a blood sample using a non-centrifugation procedure, removing white blood cells (WBCs) from said blood sample to enrich a non-hematopoietic cell, if any, from said blood sample; and assessing the presence, absence and/or amount of said enriched non-hematopoietic cell.

The invention relates to a membrane bioreactor process combined with an advanced biological sludge digestion process that provides significant improvements in sludge digestion by reducing the costs and resources required for disposing of digested sludge. The offline treatment vessel is used to solubilize the organic material by operating in a very low oxygen environment. Digested process fluid is transferred back to the membrane bioreactor. The processes and apparatus substantially reduce the production of waste sludge.

A method and plant for the treatment of an organic waste material in liquid form, e.g. liquid manure from livestock, the method comprising filtering fibres and particles from the liquid, subjecting the liquid to anaerobic fermentation in a biogas reactor, separating a substantially sterile and particle-free permeate stream from the biogas reactor, e.g. using ultrafiltration, subjecting the permeate stream to treatment with an ammonia stripper at an elevated temperature and preferably at reduced pressure to remove substantially all ammonia and carbon dioxide and to result in an ammonia fraction and a nutrient salt fraction, and separating the nutrient salt fraction into a fertiliser concentrate fraction and a water fraction, e.g. using reverse osmosis. The end products of the method are clean water, ammonia concentrate, fertiliser concentrate containing salts of P and K, compost and high-quality biogas with a high methane content.

A sterilized fluid management kit for use in renal replacement therapy isolates a replacement fluid container from touch contamination and provides for sterilization of replacement fluid by filtering using an installed filter that is hermetically connected to the replacement fluid container. A method is described where replacement fluid is automatically generated before treatment.

A filtration system is provided with hollow membrane filter elements operable to remove solids, particulate and colloidal matter from a process fluid. Acoustic, vibration and ultrasonic energy may be used to clean exterior portions of the hollow membrane filter elements to allow substantially continuous filtration of process fluids. The filtration system may be satisfactorily used with process fluids having a relatively high concentrations of solids, particulate and colloidal matter.

A process for removing soluble and insoluble inorganic, organic, and microbiological contaminants from a fluid stream employing a pretreatment module, a post-treatment module, a recycle stream module or any combination thereof, and a membrane module, is provided. The process provided reduces the problems associated with membrane fouling and increases contaminant removal capacity.

A microfluidic device and method is disclosed for fractionating and/or trapping selected molecules with a diffusion barrier or porous membrane. The device includes a source fluid flow channel and a target fluid flow channel. The target fluid flow channel and the source fluid flow channel meet at cross-channel area and are in fluid communication with each other. A porous membrane separates the source fluid flow channel from the target fluid flow channel in the cross-channel area. A field-force/gradient mechanism may be positioned proximate the porous membrane with or without detection/state monitoring devices.