The preparation and characterizations of an alumina support layer as a free-standing membrane for microfiltration

• Published in: Ceramics international Vol. 41; no. 10; pp. 13372 - 13380
• Main Authors: Ha, Jang-Hoon, Abbas Bukhari, Syed Zaighum, Lee, Jongman, Song, In-Hyuck
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Alumina; Ceramic membrane; Microstructure; Pyrophyllite–diatomite; Silicon carbide; Ceramic membrane; Silicon carbide; Pyrophyllite–diatomite; Microstructure; Alumina
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2015.07.124

Recently, porous ceramic membranes have become a subject of significant interest because of their outstanding thermal and chemical stability. To reduce the high manufacturing costs and the complex processing steps of porous ceramic membranes that consist of a support layer and a separation layer, recent research has focused on the standalone use of a support layer. Therefore, in this paper, we report the results of our efforts to determine whether we could prepare an alumina support layer as a porous ceramic membrane that could effectively filter particles (an average particle size of approximately 1µm, the ISO 12103-1 A3 test dust) while exhibiting acceptable water permeability. We also discuss the results of an attempt to compare the alumina support layer with the other porous ceramic support layers which have different pore characteristics such as a pyrophyllite–diatomite composite support layer and a silicon carbide support layer. The pore characteristics of the specimens were studied using scanning electron micrography, mercury porosimetry, capillary flow porosimetry, and a dead-end microfiltration system with particle counters.