Cross flow microfiltration of oil-water emulsions using clay based ceramic membrane support and TiO2 composite membrane

• Main Authors: Kanchapogu Suresh, G. Pugazhenthi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017-09-01
• Series: Egyptian Journal of Petroleum
• Subjects: Ceramic support; TiO2; Composite membrane; Microfiltration; Oil-water emulsions
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110062116300708

The main objective of this work is to study the effect of cross flow filtration conditions on the separation of oily wastewater using ceramic support and TiO2 membrane. Firstly, the low cost clay based ceramic membrane support was prepared by uniaxial compaction method using combination of pyrophyllite, quartz, feldspar, kaolin, ball clay and calcium carbonate along with PVA as a binder. Subsequently, TiO2 composite membrane was fabricated via hydrothermal route employing TiO2 sol derived from TiCl4 and NH4OH solution. Cross flow microfiltration investigations were carried out by utilizing oil-water emulsion concentration of 200 mg/L at three distinct applied pressures (69–207 kPa) and three cross flow velocities (0.0885, 0.1327, and 0.1769 m/s). Compared to ceramic support, TiO2 composite membrane demonstrates better performance in terms of flux and removal efficiency of oil and also the rate of flux decline during filtration operation is lower due to highly hydrophilic surface of the TiO2 membrane. TiO2 membrane displays the oil removal efficiency of 99% in the entire range of applied pressures investigation, while ceramic support shows 93–96% of oil removal.