Performance of a new ceramic microfiltration membrane based on kaolin in textile industry wastewater treatment

Abstract

A ceramic microfiltration membrane with a porosity of 40.2%, mean pore diameter of 0.27 μm, and a flexural strength of 55 MPa was prepared and applied for treatment of two types of textile dye-bath effluents. The ceramic membrane had a water permeability of 1376 L/m2.h.bar and showed excellent corrosion resistance against basic medium. Considerable removal of COD (25%), TDS (31%), BOD (39%), turbidity (21%), sulphates (34%), chlorides (33%), and color (26%) from textile effluents was achieved in the microfiltration treatment along with complete (100%) removal of TSS. This study revealed that filtration of textile effluents using a sub-micron range ceramic membrane (0.27 μm) is more effective than traditional microfiltration membranes (2–10 μm). The flux data fitted well with the standard pore blocking model indicating that the removal of various contaminants is due to adsorption of solutes on the interior surfaces of membrane pores.