Graded porous TiO2 membranes for microfiltration

Membrane technology can be integrated into many advanced system concepts for the production of liquid energy carriers and chemicals, for microfiltration, oxygen generation, low-CO2-emission power generation, hydrogen technology and carbon dioxide capture. Forschungszentrum Jülich has developed a composite membrane consisting of a ceramic TiO2 membrane with pores in the range of 100 nm deposited on a thin planar metallic substrate made of 316L stainless steel powder. Fabrication of substrate and membrane is described in this paper and the composite structure is characterized. The stainless steel substrate is produced by tape casting, the TiO2 membrane by wet powder spraying or screen printing. Light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, EDX and XRD are used to characterize the starting materials and layers. The measurement of air flow rates as a function of the pressure drop is given.