Synthesis and characterization of low-cost ceramic membranes from fly ash and kaolin for humic acid separation

Ceramic microfiltration membranes were prepared using five different compositions formulated with different amounts of fly ash and kaolin and sintered at 900 °C. The SEM analysis evidenced a large number of small pores on the surface of kaolin-rich membranes. The M4 membrane prepared using 25% fly ash and 50% kaolin was found to be optimum as it had a good combination of pore size (0.885 μm), porosity (42.7%), mechanical strength (43.6MPa), and chemical stability (<3% weight loss in acid and 0.02% in base), and this membrane was successfully applied in separation of humic acid from water. The permeate flux data fitted very closely with cake-filtration model, indicating the formation of a cake layer on membrane surface. Membrane fouling was found to be reversible and easily negated by cleaning and backflushing. The regenerated membrane showed better rejection of humic acid than fresh membrane with a flux recovery of above 80%.