Reuse of Water in Laundry Applications with Micro- and Ultrafiltration Ceramic Membrane

This study compares the performance of a microfiltration membrane, made by silicon carbide (SiC) and an ultrafiltration membrane, made by zirconia (ZrO2), in the treatment of wastewater from a washing machine designed to clean industrial tents. The filtration of deionized water, containing model microplastics (i.e., nylon fiber), was performed. This was followed by the filtration of real wastewater from a single washing cycle of industrial tents, made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) textile. The filtration parameters of the membranes and physical-chemical parameters of the wastewater, including the concentration of microplastics in the shape of tent fibers (PVC), were calculated before and after filtration. The microfiltration membrane manifested a greater decrease in permeability (95%) compared to the ultrafiltration membrane (37%). The resulting water quality in terms of Total Solids, turbidity, and microplastics concentration was better for the ultrafiltration. This is evident from 99.2% versus 98.55% removal efficiency of microplastics from the laundering wastewater, respectively.

Automated summary

This study compared the performance of a microfiltration membrane made of silicon carbide and an ultrafiltration membrane made of zirconia in treating wastewater from washing industrial tents. The ultrafiltration membrane showed better efficiency in removing microplastics from the wastewater.