Patent ID: 6913153

Claim:
A composite membrane including a membrane layer having a given quantity of pores of a given pore size for separating liquids and filtering material from liquids, said composite membrane comprising: a supporting body with relatively large flow-through openings providing a frame for receiving at least one membrane layer; an electrically conductive material included in said supporting body made from organic or inorganic components; an adjustable energy device electrically connected with at least one of said electrically conductive material and said supporting body for delivering or depriving a supply of energy to the supporting body so that the electrically conductive material in the supporting body acts as an ohmic heater in order to adjust the temperature of the supporting body; a membrane layer applied to the supporting body in a heat-conducting arrangement so that a change in supporting body temperature results in a change in membrane layer temperature; and an expandable membrane material included in said membrane layer that expands as a function of temperature to alter the size of the pores in the membrane layer; whereby the pore size of the membrane layer can be adjusted by changing the temperature of the supporting body in order to adapt the flux capacity of the membrane layer to the particular utilization without increasing pressure on the membrane layer.