Fabrication of boehmite-based UF ceramic membrane

Abstract

A single layer ultrafiltration(UF) ceramic membrane was prepared using boehmite sol. Boehmite was synthesized using a typical sol-gel process with optimization of the viscosity, pH, molar ratio of aluminum isopropoxide(AIP) and . Boehmite sol was coated on a microfiltration(MF) support using the dip-coating method. MF support was dipped into the boehmite sol with a withdrawal speed of 5 mm/s and was maintained for 10 s in the boehmite sol, resulting in a uniform UF membrane layer of thickness. The porosity of the obtained membrane was measured and found to be 41.2%; the pore size was found to range from 80~100 nm, corresponding to the pore size of the UF membrane. The flux of the obtained membrane was initially 540 and approximately 85% of the initial flux was recovered using a periodic back-flushing process.