Porous-foam mullite-bonded SiC-ceramic membranes for high-efficiency high-temperature particulate matter capture

Membranes of ceramic foams exhibit excellent prospects for application in the field of high-temperature particulate matter (PM) capture. Production of ceramic membranes that can achieve good removal efficiency as well as low pressure drop in high-efficiency PM filtration represents a great challenge. This paper reports on the preparation of porous-foam mullite-bonded SiC-ceramic membranes (MSCMs) with a 3D interconnecting pore network by a direct foaming method combined with gel-tape casting. The produced MSCMs contained large pores with a diameter of 60-150 mu m, which were interconnected with abundant small functional (for filtering) pores of < 10 mu m. Increasing the amount of the foaming agent favored the increase of porosity of the MSCMs, which was tailored between 69.2% and 84.1%, while the bending strength decreased from 10.3 to 4.0 MPa, respectively. High PM filtration efficiency (70.2%, 90.1%, and 94.6% for PM0.3, PM2.5, and PM10, respectively) and ultra-low pressure drop (27 Pa) were also recorded. Hence, the produced MSCMs qualify for application as high-temperature PM filters. This work also aims at providing a new insight into developing high-efficiency air filters. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

This study reports on the preparation of ceramic foam membranes with 3D interconnected pores and high PM filtration efficiency, achieved through direct foaming and gel-tape casting. The produced MSCMs contain large and small functional pores for efficient filtration of different particulate matters, with adjustable porosity and bending strength.