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Arumugham T, Kaleekkal NJ, Gopal S, Nambikkattu J, K R, Aboulella AM, Ranil Wickramasinghe S, Banat F. Recent developments in porous ceramic membranes for wastewater treatment and desalination: A review. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 293:112925. [PMID: 34289593 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The development of membrane technology has proved vital in providing a sustainable and affordable supply of clean water to address the ever-increasing demand. Though liquid separation applications have been still dominated by polymeric membranes, porous ceramic membranes have gained a commercial foothold in microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) applications due to their hydrophilic nature, lower fouling, ease of cleaning, reliable performance, robust performance with harsh feeds, relative insensitivity to temperature and pH, and stable long-term flux. The enrichment of research and development on porous ceramic membranes extends its focus into advanced membrane separation technologies. The latest emerging nanofiltration (NF) and membrane distillation (MD) applications have witnessed special interests in constructing porous membrane with hydrophilic/functional/hydrophobic properties. However, NF and MD are relatively new, and many shortcomings must be addressed to compete with their polymeric counterparts. For the last three years (2018-2020), state-of-the-art literature on porous ceramic membranes has been collected and critically reviewed. This review highlights the efficiency (permeability, selectivity, and antifouling) of hydrophilic porous ceramic membranes in a wide variety of wastewater treatment applications and hydrophobic porous ceramic membranes in membrane distillation-based desalination applications. A significant focus on pores characteristics, pore sieving phenomenon, nano functionalization, and synergic effect on fouling, the hydrophilic porous ceramic membrane has been discussed. In another part of this review, the role of surface hydrophobicity, water contact angle, liquid entry pressure (LEP), thermal properties, surface micro-roughness, etc., has been discussed for different types of hydrophobic porous ceramic membranes -(a) metal-based, (b) silica-based, (c) other ceramics. Also, this review highlights the potential benefits, drawbacks, and limitations of the porous membrane in applications. Moreover, the prospects are emphasized to overcome the challenges in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanigaivelan Arumugham
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Noel Jacob Kaleekkal
- Membrane Separation Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), Kozhikode, 673601, Kerala, India.
| | - Sruthi Gopal
- Membrane Separation Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), Kozhikode, 673601, Kerala, India
| | - Jenny Nambikkattu
- Membrane Separation Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), Kozhikode, 673601, Kerala, India
| | - Rambabu K
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ahmed Mamdouh Aboulella
- Department of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, Khalifa University, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - S Ranil Wickramasinghe
- Ralph E Martin Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Fawzi Banat
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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