Sustainable Ceramic Membranes from Clays and Mining Wastes by Rapid Sintering Process

This study characterized wastes from scheelite and columbite-tantalite mining, as well as kaolin processing, to produce microfiltration membranes for wastewater treatment using a fast-sintered process. After characterization, the wastes were mixed with clays, pressed, and sintered at low temperature...

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Main Authors: Hellen C. T. Firmino, Déborah dos S. Gomes, Vanderlane C. da Silva, Ieda M. G. Santos, Helio L. Lira, Lisiane N. L. Santana, Romualdo R. Menezes, Gelmires de A. Neves
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol) 2025-02-01
Series:Materials Research
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392025000100203&lng=en&tlng=en
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Summary:This study characterized wastes from scheelite and columbite-tantalite mining, as well as kaolin processing, to produce microfiltration membranes for wastewater treatment using a fast-sintered process. After characterization, the wastes were mixed with clays, pressed, and sintered at low temperatures of 1050 and 1100 °C. The resulting membranes exhibited pore size distributions ranging from 3 μm to 180 μm and flexural strengths exceeding 14 MPa. In a crossflow filtration system, permeate fluxes ranged from 177 L/h.m2 to 228 L/h.m2 at 2 bar, with permeabilities from 99 to 130 L/h.m2 bar depending on the waste content. Membranes with smaller pore sizes effectively removed 90% to 96% of turbidity from a water/clay suspension containing micrometric clay particles. This approach demonstrates that rapid sintering of ceramic membranes from mining waste can effectively reduce environmental impacts and energy costs, providing a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment.
ISSN:1516-1439