Application of ceramic membrane in water and wastewater treatment

Abstract

The report presents some basic details of membranes processes and particularly ceramic membranes, methods of characterisation of ceramic membranes. In the experimental part, feasibility of ceramic membrane based processes for river water purification, tannery wastewater treatment and Oxidation of Iron (II) and Arsenic (III) to Iron (III) and Arsenic(IV)through Ceramic membrane contactor has been investigated. In the recent years, membrane technology including ceramic membrane is being widely applied in different separation and purification application. This is due to the fact that with the threshold limits of water quality parameters and various discharge norms of the treated wastewater are getting stringent day by day and many of the conventional treatment systems are not being able to meet many of these norms. But with the incorporation of membrane based systems, meeting such norms have become possible. As the structural and operational advantages of modular ceramic membranes, the basic laboratory investigation with saline river water has established the potential of using ceramic membrane for turbidity removal after primary sedimentation. For tannery wastewater, the investigation has shown promising result in terms of removal of certain pollutant parameter. In another investigation, the porous morphological structure has been used not as a separation device, but it was used for surface contacting device for gas-liquid interphase for better oxidation of Iron(II) and Arsenic (III). In addition, field application of ceramic membranes for removal of arsenic from contaminated groundwater has been discussed.