Study on the Preparation and Properties of Talcum-Fly Ash Based Ceramic Membrane Supports.

Chao Cheng,Heng Zhang,Jun Wu,Haiping Chen,Hongming Fu

doi:10.3390/membranes10090207

Abstract

Ceramic membrane method for moisture recovery from flue gas of thermal power plants is of considerable interest due to its excellent selection performance and corrosion resistance. However, manufacturing costs of commercial ceramic membranes are still relatively expensive, which promotes the development of new methods for preparing low-cost ceramic membranes. In this study, a method for the preparation of porous ceramic membrane supports is proposed. Low-cost fly ash from power plants is the main material of the membrane supports, and talcum is the additive. The fabrication process of the ceramic membrane supports is described in detail. The properties of the supports were fully characterized, including surface morphology, phase composition, pore diameter distribution, and porosity. The mechanical strength of the supports was measured. The obtained ceramic membrane supports displays a pore size of about 5 μm and porosity of 37.8%. Furthermore, the water recovery performance of the supports under different operating conditions was experimentally studied. The experimental results show that the recovered water flux varies with operating conditions. In the study, the maximum recovered water flux reaches 5.22 kg/(m2·h). The findings provide a guidance for the ceramic membrane supports application of water recovery from flue gas.

Highlights

China is suffering serious water shortages and water pollution problems caused by, among others, rapid economic development [1]
Water vapor discharged into the atmosphere along with the purified flue gas through the chimney accounts for more than 80% of the water consumption of those systems, with a large amount of this water vapor being generated in the coal combustion process
The content of water vapor in the flue gas discharged by a coal-fired power plant is 4–13%, while that discharged by a gas-fired power plant is more than

Summary

Introduction

China is suffering serious water shortages and water pollution problems caused by, among others, rapid economic development [1]. Thermal power plants consume a vast amount of water, which accounts for about 11% of China’s total industrial water consumption [2]. China’s water resources are limited with a great demand for water and water conservation. In the case of air-cooled units alone in thermal power plants, water consumption of the wet desulfurization system accounts for more than 50% of the total water consumption of the units. Water vapor discharged into the atmosphere along with the purified flue gas through the chimney accounts for more than 80% of the water consumption of those systems, with a large amount of this water vapor being generated in the coal combustion process. A large amount of heat is discharged with flue gas. The content of water vapor in the flue gas discharged by a coal-fired power plant is 4–13%, while that discharged by a gas-fired power plant is more than

Methods

Results

Conclusion