Characterization and application of ceramic membranes prepared from Algerian kaolin

In this study, a new ceramic membrane type was used for the filtration of colored water. The membrane was prepared from local Algerian kaolin KT2 of Milia-type. The choice of this raw material was dictated by its natural abundance, to form the macroporous support prepared by the slip casting technique. A functional thin film layer (with a pore size of about 0.2 μm) produced by the solgel method was deposited on the support to reduce the porosity. A detailed study was conducted because of the importance of this layer and the improvement which brought to the filtration process. Ceramic membranes were tested for the removal of bromophenol red (BR) under a filtration pressure of 3 bar and a duration of 2 h of treatment. The results revealed a rejection rate of 100% for BR, especially after the addition of the inorganic layer. The material was characterized by DTA, TGA, XRD and SEM. The retention and the permeability of BR were also studied.