Abstract
Natural zeolite is widely used in removing ammonia via adsorption process because of its superior ion-exchange properties. Ceramic particle size affects the adsorptivity of particles toward ammonia. In this study, hollow fiber ceramic membrane (HFCM) was fabricated from natural zeolite via phase inversion. The effect of natural zeolite particle size toward the properties and performance of HFCM was evaluated. The results show that the HFCM with smaller particle sizes exhibited a more compact morphological structure with better mechanical strength. The adsorption performance of HFCM was significantly improved with smaller particle sizes because of longer residence time, as proven by the lower water permeability. A high adsorption performance of 96.67% was achieved for HFCM with the smallest particle size (36 μm). These findings provide a new perspective on the promising properties of the natural zeolite-derived HFCM for ammonia removal.
Highlights
Potable water scarceness has become a crucial problem across the globe for many years.The introduction of many contaminants into water bodies has worsened the effect of water pollution.The presence of contaminants, such as heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and industrial wastes, is known as one of the foremost causes of this problem [1]
There are studies that report the effect of particle size on membrane technology, they are limited to the particle size of the additive materials embedded in the membrane matrix [32,33]
This current work highlights a new perspective on the effect of particle size on the ceramic membrane adsorption performance
Summary
Potable water scarceness has become a crucial problem across the globe for many years. Most of the membranes used in treating wastewater containing contaminants such as heavy metals, humic acid, pharmaceutical wastes, and ammonia are mainly of inorganic ceramic materials These materials possess outstanding durability under high pressure and temperature, great chemical stability, good defouling property, and long-lasting usability [11]. To the best of our knowledge, no similar studies have been reported the fabrication of a natural zeolite-based adsorptive hollow fiber ceramic membrane (HFCM) for the removal of ammonia in water. The effects of the ceramic particle size on the physicochemical properties such as membrane compactness, crystallinity of the ceramic, and microtopography of the membrane as well as the performance of the HFCM were studied in detail in this work for the adsorptive removal of ammonia in water treatment. The changes in the physical properties of the HFCM eventually affected the membrane performance
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