Processing and Characterization of UAE Clay Ceramic Membranes for Water Treatment Applications

Abstract

The scarcity of drinking water is currently a critical issue in many parts of the world. Providing clean/urgent longer limited to natural sources. Wastewater treatment has become an urgent necessity in many countries, particularly in the Middle East and North African regions characterized by a desert climate. Hence, the development of effective methods for wastewater treatment is vital to overcome this water shortage. The present study attempts to explore the use of local clay from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to prepare porous ceramic membranes (flat disk shape) for the purpose of removing toxic heavy metals from contaminated water. Two types of ceramic membranes were prepared by powder metallurgy method; the first type was prepared by uniaxial compression of the clay powder with particle size ≤ 250 μm, followed by sintering. The second type of membrane was composed of an activated carbon/clay powder mixture at different ratios (0.5%, 3% w/w). The activated carbon was used as an agent to form porosity in the plain clay membrane. The activated carbon was found to affect the final characteristics of the flat disk membranes sintered at 1000°C. 3% w/w activated carbon/clay powder was found to induce 19% porosity in the flat disc. The flat disc membranes were also characterized by X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence. The plain clay and 3% w/w activated carbon membranes were tested for their efficiency for water permeation. The results proved that the UAE clay could be considered as a promising material for the fabrication of ceramic membranes for prospective use in the removal of water contaminated with heavy metals.