Inorganic Membranes in Water and Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Worldwide water scarcity and an increase in population growth have become unprecedented urgent global issues. There is a pressing need to develop robust membrane technologies for water and wastewater treatment at lower cost. Inorganic membranes feature superior chemical, thermal, and mechanical robustness as well as reusability. They are ideally suited for harsh environments in many wastewater treatment applications. Common fabrication methods of inorganic membranes include slip casting, tape casting, pressing, extrusion, dip coating, sol-gel process, atomic layer deposition, and thermal spray. For the fabrication of inorganic hollow fiber membranes, the combination of phase inversion and sintering is used. The excellent packing density and high specific area of inorganic hollow fiber membranes can offer great treatment capacities for large-scale applications. Commercial inorganic membranes have been applied in a wide variety of industrial applications and to compete with polymeric counterparts on a whole-life cost basis. Recent progress in inorganic membrane science and technologies have shown great potential in many water treatment applications, including potable water production, desalination, wastewater treatment, as well as juice clarification and concentration.