Assessment of production variables on the performance of ceramic membranes

Abstract

Water crisis is one of the most important topics nowadays. The water crisis is approaching due to several factors, which is why finding alternative sources of water is important. Water treatment has gained its importance as it decreases the amount of waste water in addition to producing water that can be used in different applications based on its characteristics. Several water treatment techniques are present nowadays; however, research is needed to lower the cost of such techniques in addition to increasing productivity and maximize their range of applicability. Several water treatment techniques are capable of producing fresh water from different types of feed water (saline water, waste water, etc.), these techniques include membrane technologies and thermal technologies. Due to high energy consumption, and lower productivity in thermal techniques membrane techniques are mostly used nowadays in the applications of water treatment. Ceramic membranes have attracted researchers due to their characteristics and wide range of applicability. In this paper, different ceramic membrane types are illustrated; production techniques and the effect of each production variable on the membrane characteristics are shown, in addition to applying a comparison between different additives. Finally, a comparison of performance is carried out.