We have conducted an exploratory study to investigate the feasibility of using thermal spray techniques for the fabrication of microfiltration ceramic membranes. The membranes were made using a and ? alumina sources, which were sprayed on to a porous stainless steel substrate. The properties of these membranes were also tuned by adjusting the preparation parameters such as spraying methods, plasma power, spray distance, thickness and the source material. These membranes were further characterized XRD (X-ray Diffraction), EDX (Energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and pore size analysis to understand the phase change, elemental composition, and surface morphology. Performance of these membranes was also tested using flux and rejection rate measurements. Importantly the performance of these membranes was similar to that of more expensive commercially available membranes. Based on our results, we can conclude that thermal spray technique is a viable method for the production of ceramic membranes, although more studies are needed to optimize their performance under different filtration conditions. One of the biggest advantages of this method of membrane manufacturing is the possibility of economically scaling up these ceramic membranes up to a scale of tens of m2.

Highly scalable ceramic membranes for microfiltration applications

248th National Meeting (2014)

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