Effective and highly recyclable ceramic membrane based on amorphous nanosilica for dye removal from the aqueous solutions

In this study, an adsorptive ceramic membrane was prepared by a simple dry pressing of a mixture of nanosilica produced from low cost rice husk by hydrothermal technique at sub-critical water conditions, calcium phosphate, and ammonium acetate together and then calcined at 600 °C in air. Optimization of the raw materials ratio was found to be necessary to avoid crack formation during sintering process. The membrane microstructure, dye removal efficiency and the permeation flux of the membranes were investigated. The membrane was tested to remove the methylene blue from aqueous solution. Results show that the removal of the dye increases as the silica content increases in the all given membranes and it decreases with an increase in the ammonium acetate. Moreover, the water flux decreases with an increase in the silica content. The methylene blue adsorbed onto the silica membrane can be removed by calcination and the membrane could be recycled several times without any obvious loss in the adsorption performance. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a convenient strategy to prepare an effective adsorptive membrane, which can be applied as a highly recyclable membrane for the adsorption of organic maters.