LOW-COST CERAMIC MEMBRANES FOR FOOD PROCESSING

CERAMIC MEMBRANES ARE RAPIDLY EMERGING AS A NEW TECHNOLOGY IN MEMBRANE SEPARATIONS. HOWEVER, COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE DEVICES HAVE HIGH COSTS RELATIVE TO POLYMERIC MEMBRANES, TYPICALLY FIVE TO TEN TIMES HIGHER. THE TECHNOLOGY TO BE DEVELOPED EMPLOYS A UNIQUE APPROACH TO CERAMIC MEMBRANE MODULE DESIGN. THE MODULE CONCEPT SHOULD RESULT IN PRODUCTION OF CERAMIC MEMBRANES WITH A COST LESS THAN THOSE FOR ANY CURRENTLY AVAILABLE POLYMERIC PRODUCT, AND AT LEAST FIVE-FOLD LESS THAN THE COST FOR ANY CERAMIC MEMBRANE PRODUCT. IN PHASE I, FULL-SCALE MODULES WILL BE PRODUCED BASED ON ZIRCONIA AND ALUMINA CHEMISTRY. INDIVIDUAL MODULES WILL HAVE MEMBRANE AREAS OF BETWEEN 2 AND 10 SQUARE METERS. THESE MODULES WILL BE CHARACTERIZED FOR FLUX AND REJECTION IN TESTS WITH STANDARD MARKERS, FOLLOWED BY PROCESS STUDIES WITH FEED MATERIALS FROM THE FOOD, DAIRY, AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES. IN PHASE II, IF FUNDED, A PILOT SYSTEM WILL BE FITTED WITH FULL-SCALE PROTOTYPE CERAMIC MEMBRANE MODULES FOR EVALUATION IN FIELD TRIALS AT PLANT SITES.