Tio₂ coating on alumina membranes for continuous separation of dyes

ABSTRACT

Ceramic membranes characterised by corrosion resistance, high-temperature applicability, and reusability are especially suitable for wastewater treatment. In this research, Titania dioxide (TiO₂) was fabricated on surfaces of alumina (Al₂O₃) membranes by hydrothermal reaction and factors that influenced their morphologies were investigated. SEM images showed needle-like TiO₂ crystals filling up the pores on the membrane surfaces. We investigated the photocatalytic activity and continuous separation performance of the TiO₂ coating alumina membranes using Congo red dye as a model organic pollutant. The results showed that the dye removal ratio remained at about 98% in a 120 h continuous filtration test. Furthermore, we proposed an easy and low-cost membrane regeneration method based on the photocatalytic degradation of TiO₂ crystals. The regenerated membrane still showed excellent continuous filtration ability, indicating the good potential application in the treatment of dye effluents.

KEYWORDS:

• TiO₂
• coating
• membrane
• morphology
• dye
• photodegradation
• separation
• regeneration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials.