Evaluation of non-commercial ceramic SiO2-ZrO2 and organosilica BTESE membranes in a highly oxidative medium: Performance in hydrogen peroxide

The development of robust membranes able to withstand harsh environments such as oxidative conditions would improve the sustainability of several separation processes. Therefore, organosilica and ceramic non-commercial membranes were characterized and their performances were compared before and after contact with hydrogen peroxide. The organosilica membrane showed a high level of solute rejection coefficients (0.928 for NaCl and 0.969 for MgCl2), but low permeability (5.04·10-13 m3/m2 s Pa, equivalent to 0.181 L/m2 h bar). The ceramic membrane, however, showed low solute rejection (0.187 for NaCl and 0.649 for MgSO4), but high membrane permeability (7.05·10-12 m3/m2 s Pa, equivalent to 2.538 L/m2 h bar). While the organosilica membrane was quite sensitive to the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the chemical stability of the ceramic membrane in 30% hydrogen peroxide solution was very satisfactory. A Kedem-Katchalsky membrane transport model and a logistic decay model were applied to successfully test the performance of the membranes and to characterize the evolution of the organosilica membrane, respectively.