Nanoporous Alumina Membranes for Sugar Industry: An Investigation of Sintering Parameters Influence onUltrafiltration Performance

Farooq Khan Niazi, Malik Adeel Umer, Ashfaq Ahmed, Muhammad Arslan Hafeez, Zafar Khan, Muhammad Shoaib Butt, Abdul Razzaq, Xian Luo and Young-Kwon Park
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Farooq Khan Niazi: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Malik Adeel Umer: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Ashfaq Ahmed: School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Muhammad Arslan Hafeez: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Zafar Khan: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muhammad Shoaib Butt: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Abdul Razzaq: Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Xian Luo: State Key Lab of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Young-Kwon Park: School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: Ultrafiltration membranes offer a progressive and efficient means to filter out various process fluids. The prime factor influencing ultrafiltration to a great extent is the porosity of the membranes employed. Regarding membrane development, alumina membranes are extensively studied due to their uniform porosity and mechanical strength. The present research work is specifically aimed towards the investigation of nanoporous alumina membranes, as a function of sintering parameters, on ultrafiltration performance. Alumina membranes are fabricated by sintering at various temperatures ranging from 1200–1300 °C for different holding times between 5–15 h. The morphological analysis, conducted using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealed a homogeneous distribution of pores throughout the surface and cross-section of the membranes developed. It was observed that an increase in the sintering temperature and time resulted in a gradual decrease in the average pore size. A sample with an optimal pore size of 73.65 nm achieved after sintering at 1250 °C for 15 h, was used for the evaluation of ultrafiltration performance. However, the best mechanical strength and highest stress-bearing ability were exhibited by the sample sintered at 1300 °C for 5 h, whereas the sample sintered at 1250 °C for 5 h displayed the highest strain in terms of compression. The selected alumina membrane sample demonstrated excellent performance in the ultrafiltration of sugarcane juice, compared to the other process liquids.

Keywords: Ultrafiltration; nanoporous membrane; sintering; time-motion study; sugar industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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