A LOW COST CERAMIC ULTRAFILTRATION MEMBRANE MODULE

CERAMIC MEMBRANES RAPIDLY ARE EMERGING AS A NEW TECHNOLOGY IN MEMBRANE SEPARATIONS. HOWEVER, COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DEVICES HAVE HIGH COSTS RELATIVE TO POLYMERIC MEMBRANES, TYPICALLY 5 TO 10 TIMES HIGHER. THE TECHNOLOGY TO BE DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT EMPLOYS A UNIQUE APPROACH TO CERAMIC MEMBRANE MODULE DESIGN. THIS DESIGN HAS A VERY HIGHPACKING DENSITY (UP TO 450 FT(2) MEMBRANE AREA PER FT(3)) AND WILL RESULT IN PRODUCTION OF CERAMIC MEMBRANES AT A COSTLESS THAN THOSE FOR ANY CURRENTLY AVAILABLE POLYMERIC PRODUCT AND AT LEAST 10-FOLD LESS THAN THE COST FOR ANY CERAMIC MEMBRANE PRODUCT. A MEMBRANE MODULE PRODUCTION COSTOF $1.50 TO $3.00/FT(2) IS PROJECTED. IN PHASE I, LABORATORY SCALE CERAMIC ULTRAFILTRATION MEMBRANE MODULES WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON ZIRCONIA CHEMISTRY. INDIVIDUAL MODULES WILL HAVE A DIAMETER OF 1 IN. AND A LENGTH OF 1 FT, WITH A MEMBRANE AREA OF 1.5 FT(2). THE MEMBRANE MODULES WILL BE TESTED FOR WATER FLUX AND RETENTION PROPERTIES WITH STANDARD TEST MARKERS. MEMBRANES ALSO WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. IN PHASE II,FULL SCALE MEMBRANE MODULES WITH MEMBRANE AREA OF 120 TO 240 FT(2) WILL BE DEVELOPED AND FIELD TESTED.