Shaping of microfiltration (MF) ZrO2 membranes using a centrifugal casting method

Abstract The main objectives of the present paper were to prepare ceramic supports and their MF membranes. Two different techniques have been used in this work; the extrusion and the centrifugal casting techniques. The supports were made by an extrusion method to obtain tubular supports which were afterwards sintered at different temperatures (1150–1250 °C). The MF membrane layer was elaborated from ZrO 2 , using a centrifugal casting method. The specimens were subsequently sintered at 1150 °C. The microstructure, the porosity, the permeability and the average pore size (APS) have also been studied. For example, the APS, the layer thickness and the water permeability values were 0.3 μm, 40 μm and 550 l/h m 2 bar, respectively. Finally, this study demonstrated that the centrifugal casting technique may be considered as a promising one in order to fabricate tubular ceramics MF membrane layers within smooth inside surfaces and a good adhesion. Also, a homogeneous pore size distribution (PSD) and a good thickness of membranes were confirmed.