Elaboration and Properties of Zirconia Microfiltration Membranes

The main objective of this work is the preparation of ceramic supports and membranes for microfiltration application. The supports were prepared by using clay and calcium carbonate mixtures as starting materials. The choice of these raw materials is based on their natural abundance. These powders were mixed with certain organic additives to obtain a conveyable paste ready for extrusion in order to fabricate a porous tubular configuration with highly uniform porous structure. Microfiltration zirconia membranes were deposited on the tubular supports, using slip-casting process. It was found that the average pore size of the membrane and its thickness were about 0.16 μm and 25 μm, respectively. Moreover, the fabricated membrane was tested with distilled water with cross-flow microfiltration process. Results showed a good retention of turbidity, conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in permeate.