Ceramic Vs Polymeric Membranes

A number of different polymeric and ceramic materials are used to form membranes.

Ceramic vs polymeric membranes.

Ceramic membranes consist of metal aluminum or titanium and non metal oxides nitride or carbide. Ceramic membranes have been hailed for their advantageous properties when compared to polymeric membranes. This makes these membranes suitable for many applications where polymeric and other inorganic membranes cannot be used. Polycera membranes offer a unique combination of extreme hydrophilicity permeability and robustness.

Comprehensive membrane science and engineering second edition 2017. They are used in membrane operations for liquid filtration. Synthetic membrane can be fabricated from a large number of different materials. The advantages of ceramic membranes compared to polymeric membranes are often stated to be.

Additionally ceramic membranes are ideal for in place chemical cleaning at high temperatures while using caustic chlorine hydrogen peroxide ozone and strong inorganic acids and or by using steam sterilization. They are generally used for highly acidic or basic environments due to inertness. Improved hydrophilicity means improved fouling resistance and ease of cleaning ultimately more water and less cost. The downside of ceramic membranes is the high sensitivity to temperature gradient which leads to membrane cracking.

Katie guerra p e of the bureau of reclamation reported on her efforts to put to the test the common assumptions that ceramic micro and ultrafiltration systems though more robust and forgiving have such a high capital cost that polymeric membrane systems provide a lower total operating cost advantage. So the membrane replacement component of the opex is then approximately proportional to the ratio of the membrane cost l to the net flux j times the membrane life t. Ceramic membranes are a type of artificial membranes made from inorganic materials such as alumina titania zirconia oxides silicon carbide or some glassy materials. Opex l j t this means that as far as the cost effectiveness of the ceramic membrane compared with the polymeric one is concerned the determining factor is the ratio of the term l j t for the two materials.

It can be made from organic or inorganic materials including solids such as metal or ceramic homogeneous films polymers heterogeneous solids polymeric mixes mixed glasses and liquids. Polymeric membranes are usually produced as flat sheets and the two most widely used lab scale configurations are the dead end and the crossflow modes. To be made useful the membrane material must be formed or configured in such a way as to allow water to pass through it. I a relatively narrow pore size distribution and higher porosity resulting in better separation characteristics and a higher flux ii a higher mechanical stability allowing.

Polycera goes beyond traditional polymeric and ceramic materials. There are mainly two different types of membrane material.