Process and device for the manufacture of a permeable membrane

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF THE MANUFACTURE OF A PERMEABLE MEMBRANE, WHICH COMPRISES PROVIDING A MICROPOROUS METALLIC SUPPORT OF HOLLOW FORM AND HAVING A WALL THICKNESS BETWEEN 0.2 AND 1 MM., A MEAN PORE RADIUS FROM 1 MICRON TO SEVERAL TENS OF MICRONS, WITH A LAYER ON ITS INTERNAL FACE OF A THICKNESS OF 0.05 TO 1 MM. OF A METALLIC COMPOUND ADMIXED WITH A BINDER AND CAPABLE OF UNDERGOING THERMAL DISSOCIATION INTO A SUBDIVIDED METAL HAVING PARTICLE DIMENSIONS FROM 0.5 CENTIMICRON TO 0.5 MICRON AND A VOLATILE CONSTITUENT, INTRODUCING INTO THE COATED SUPPORT A RIGID CORE HAVING A POLISHED EXTERNAL SURFACE FITTING AGAINST THE COATED LAYER, INTRODUCING THE ASSEMBLY FORMED BY THE COATED SUPPORT AND THE CORE INTO A CASING OF INTERNAL FORM CORRESPONDING TO THE EXTERNAL FORM OF THE SUPPORT WITH A CLEARANCE OF THE ORDER OF 0.02 TO 1 MM. BETWEEN THE SUPPORT AND THE CASING, SEALING THE CASING WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AT LEAST ONE APERTURE AND THEN, REMOVING OXYGEN FROM SAID CASING EFFECTING THERMAL DISSOCIATION OF THE METALLIC COMPOUND, ELIMINATING THE VOLATILE CONSTITUENT EVOLVED BY ASPIRATION TOWARDS THE APERTURE, APPLYING HYDRAULIC PRESSURE OF 1 TO 15 TONS/CM.2 TO THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE CASING TO COMPRESS THE CASING AND THE SUPPORT AND SUBDIVIDED METAL AGAINST SAID CORE, HOLDING SAID CASING AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND THE TEMPERATURE OF SINTERING OF SAID SUBDIVIDED METAL WHILE SAID HYDRAULIC PRESSURE IS APPLIED THERETO THEREBY FORMING SAID SUBDIVIDED METAL SUPPORT INTO A PERMEABLE MEMBRANE, THEN SEPARATING SAID PERMEABLE MEMBRANE FROM SAID CORE AND CASING.