Characterization and Hydrodynamic Evaluation of the Relationship between Permeability and Microstructure Parameters Ceramic Membranes for the Separation of Oil-in-water Emulsion

Abstract

Ceramic membranes for wastewater treatment are usually fine filters prepared by sintering of alumina, titania or zirconia powders at ultra-high temperatures and have an asymmetric cross-section using the same material or a combination of the three giving a base support and an active layer forming the membrane. The Carman–Kozeny (C–K) and Hagen–Poiseuille (H–P) transport equations have been used to predict water permeability of ceramic membranes and can be adapted to take account of the effects of microstructural parameters (porosity, and tortuosity) of ceramic membranes on pure water flux. The hydrodynamics of the membranes were evaluated by gas transport to obtain equivalent water permeability which was then used to obtain the porosity and tortuosity respectively. Gas permeability experiments showed good correspondence with the calculated water flux. Characterization of the membranes was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging to determine the morphological aspects of the sample including shape and size of membranes while the electron diffraction with x-rays analysis (EDAX) was used to obtain information on the elemental composition.