Abstract
In water treatment applications, the use of ceramic membranes is associated with numerous advantages relative to polymer-based filtration systems. High-temperature stability, fouling resistance, and low maintenance requirements contribute to lower lifecycle costs in such systems. However, the high production costs of most commercially available ceramic membranes, stemming from raw materials and processing, are uneconomical for such systems in most water treatment applications. For this reason, there is a growing demand for new ceramic membranes based on low-cost raw materials and processes. The use of unrefined mineral feedstocks, clays, cement, sands, and ash as the basis for the fabrication of ceramic membranes offers a promising pathway towards the obtainment of effective filtration systems that can be economically implemented in large volumes. The design of effective ceramic filtration membranes based on low-cost raw materials and energy-efficient processes requires a balance of pore structure, mass flow, and robustness, all of which are highly dependent on the composition of materials used, the inclusion of various pore-forming and binding additives, and the thermal treatments to which membranes are subjected. In this review, we present recent developments in materials and processes for the fabrication of low-cost membranes from unrefined raw materials, including clays, zeolites, apatite, waste products, including fly ash and rice husk ash, and cement. We examine multiple aspects of materials design and address the challenges relating to their further development.
Highlights
Industrialization, urbanization, and continued population growth have combined to bring about a sharp increase in the demand for water filtration capacity
Membranes 2019, 9, 105 costs of raw materials typically used for ceramic membranes and high energy consumption in sintering-based fabrication processes result in high production costs, and energy in sintering-based fabricationceramic processes result in high and hindersconsumption large scale application of conventional membranes and production limits theircosts, application to hinders largesystems scale application of conventional and limitsraw theirmaterials application small small scale
The term used generically to define materials, whichwhich have constituents that at ambient termpozzolan pozzolanis is used generically to define materials, have constituents that at temperature combine with lime in the presence of water to form permanently insoluble and stable ambient temperature combine with lime in the presence of water to form permanently insoluble and compounds that behave like cement, and that is why natural occurring pozzolan minerals are mainly stable compounds that behave like cement, and that is why natural occurring pozzolan minerals are used in cement industry
Summary
Industrialization, urbanization, and continued population growth have combined to bring about a sharp increase in the demand for water filtration capacity. Membranes 2019, 9, 105 costs of raw materials typically used for ceramic membranes (alumina, zirconia, titania) and high energy consumption in sintering-based fabrication processes result in high production costs, and energy in sintering-based fabricationceramic processes result in high and hindersconsumption large scale application of conventional membranes and production limits theircosts, application to hinders largesystems scale application of conventional and limitsraw theirmaterials application small small scale [8,9]. Over the past fewceramic years, membranes the use of low-cost as to ceramic scale systems [8,9]. Overhas thebeen past few years, the use of low-cost materials as ceramic membrane membrane precursors attracting increasing attentionraw [10,11,12]. Of low-cost support membranes have been discussed elsewhere we present present a comprehensive survey of watersystems filtration systems based on cost-effective materials and awe comprehensive survey of water filtration based on cost-effective materials and critically criticallytheir examine their processing and implementation
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