Preparation and Characterization of Microfiltration Ceramic Membrane for Oily Waste Water Treatment

This work highlights the preparation of ceramic membranes from a low-cost naturally occurring clay material viz. red mud. Additives like sodium carbonate, sodium metasilicate and boric acid was added in standard stoichiometric ratio with the processed clay material, imparting characteristic properties. Paste casting method was followed for fabricating circular disc shaped membranes with 50 mm× 5 mm dimensions. Sintering effects were studied by exposing the membranes at temperatures ranging between 500 o C to 800 o C in a programmable muffle furnace. The membranes fabricated were characterized using standard characterization techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Powder X-ray Diffraction Analysis (PXRD). Finally, water permeation studies were carried out in a standard membrane module within the microfiltration regime i.e. < 5 kg cm -2 , obtaining a standard permeation flux and the data was used in calculating the porosity of the ceramic membrane. These membranes were found well suited for oily waste water studies. A maximum rejection of 53% was achieved with membrane sintered at 800 0 C.