Recent Progresses in Ceramic Hollow-Fiber Membranes

Membrane technology is one of the most important aspects in separation processes. Hollow fibers are one of the emerging technologies that had a new growth spurt during the past decades. Ceramic membranes have outstanding stability at high temperatures (> 100 degrees C), at extreme pH, and in fouling environments. In this article, recent progresses on ceramic hollow-fiber membranes are discussed. The characterizations of membranes, particularly by different methods, are reported. New ceramics, especially perovskites and composites of ceramics, and new techniques are introduced in making high performance hollow fibers. New applications of ceramic hollow fibers are also discussed in detail.