Three minutes to learn about ceramic membranes

Ceramic membrane, as a type of solid membrane, is a ceramic filtration and separation material that uses porous ceramics as the carrier and microporous ceramic membrane as the filter layer. The pores of ceramic membranes are 0.004-15 μ m. Tubular and multi-channel, its main materials are inorganic materials such as Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2, SiO2, etc.

At present, it can be divided into symmetric ceramic films and asymmetric ceramic films according to their structure.

So what exactly is an asymmetric ceramic film? As the name suggests, asymmetric ceramic membranes consist of at least two layers, and in some cases, more than three layers. The thickness of the support layer is generally a few millimeters, and the aperture range is about 1-10 μ m. The thickness of the intermediate transition layer is generally 10-100 μ m. The pore size range is usually 50-100nm, and the filter layer is very thin, with a thickness of about 1-10 μ m. The aperture is often below 100nm. Due to the asymmetric structural characteristics of asymmetric ceramic membranes, a defect free separation layer can be effectively formed, ensuring the mechanical strength of the ceramic membrane and reducing its hydraulic resistance.

With the severe shortage of global water resources, the use of ceramic membrane separation technology for wastewater treatment and reuse has become increasingly important. From the perspective of material properties, ceramic membranes can perform long-term stable separation operations under harsh conditions, which also determines that the main direction of ceramic membranes in the field of water treatment is wastewater treatment, especially industrial wastewater treatment. At present, ceramic membranes are mainly used in the treatment of chemical and petroleum wastewater, oily wastewater, printing and dyeing wastewater, radioactive wastewater, and domestic wastewater.

Compared with traditional water treatment processes, ceramic membranes have the characteristics of high porosity, narrow pore size distribution, low filtration resistance, and thin separation layer. They also have high processing capacity per unit membrane surface area, large water production, and stable membrane chemical properties. They can operate stably for a long time in wastewater treatment, providing technical support for industrial wastewater treatment