Fabrication and Characterisation of a Novel Mullite-Stainless Steel Composed Hollow Fibre Membrane for Oil/Water Separation

Recent progress and technical improvement strategies for mitigating ceramic membrane bottlenecks in water purification processes: A review

“…Ceramic membranes have also gained significant attention for their superior resistance to harsh operating conditions and environments, such as chemicals and high temperatures, making them suitable for various industrial applications, particularly in water desalination and water/wastewater treatment. 5,35,36 The literature suggests that ceramic membranes exhibit higher stability and performance than polymeric membranes, owing to their improved hydraulic performance, making them more attractive for full-scale applications. 37,38 As depicted in Table 1, ceramic membranes have been fabricated using conventional and low-cost materials and employed in various separation and filtration processes across different applications with different membrane configurations.…”

“…Its chemical composition primarily comprises SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 , varying ranges depending on the clay type and origin. 5,[71][72][73][74] Clay-based ceramic membranes offer notable advantages, such as high reactivity, purity, and mechanical properties, rendering them suitable for various processes, including MF, UF, and MD processes. [75][76][77] Studies have mainly focused on using clay-based membranes in MF and UF processes, achieving high rejection rates of up to 100% in eight studies in MF processes and six studies in UF processes.…”

“…This limitation can be addressed by converting kaolin to mullite with higher density ranging from 3.11 to 3.26 g/cm 3 through thermal reactions at temperatures above 1140 • C. 80,81 Mullite-based kaolin has gained attention for ceramic membrane preparation due to its high Al 2 O 3 (39.1 wt.%) and SiO 2 (59.6 wt.%) contents and its superior properties, such as higher density, packing, thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability, low thermal expansion/conductivity, and resistance to thermal shock. 5,6,10,82,83 Several studies have shown the potential of mullite-based membranes in various applications. Zhu et al 84 enhanced porosity and permeance using mullite membranes containing 4 wt.% AlF 3 and 5 wt.% MoO 3 .…”

“…1,2 It finds applications in industrial processes such as desalination, wastewater recovery, and water and wastewater treatment. [3][4][5][6] Compared to conventional separation and filtration techniques, membranes based on separation techniques are more robust, compact, and perform better. They can effectively reject and remove a wide range of contaminants, including pathogens and suspended pollutants, through adsorption, electrostatic repulsion, and size exclusion.…”

“…16,19 The porous ceramic supports often break at the seal and membrane interface due to weak bonds between the fibermatrix interface and the inherent brittleness of ceramic materials. 5,10 Therefore, ceramic membranes must possess strong mechanical properties to ensure their sustainability and effectiveness in separation/filtration processes. 6 Membrane fouling is also a significant drawback in the wide-ranging applications of ceramic membranes.…”