subject: Titania Ceramic Ultrafiltration Membranes for Water Purification – CSIR – NIIST Technology [print this page] Titania Ceramic Ultrafiltration Membranes for Water Purification CSIR NIIST Technology
Titania Ceramic Ultrafiltration Membranes for Water Purification
Recently I visited CSIR Technofest 2010 showcased by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi, at India International Trade Fair in New Delhi, the Capital of India. In this technofest, I came to know that "Titania Ceramic Ultrafiltration Membranes" for water purification which was developed by National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum), under the aegis of CSIR, New Delhi, India.
Filtration will be done in different techniques based on the size of separated particles like
1. Conventional method (1- 1000 m)
2. Microfiltration (10-1 - 10 m)
3. Ultrafiltration - (10-3 - 10-1 m)
4. Reverse Osmosis - (10-4 - 10-2 m)
The main advantages of ceramic filters in comparison to other filters made of other materials are
enhanced mechanical strength and structural stiffness,
corrosive and thermal resistance,
stability of opening characteristics during long service,
the possibility multiple regeneration,
resistance to bacterial attack.
Ceramic filters are easily recovers by calcinations, or by the backward steam of water, or an appropriate solvent. This makes possible to use ceramic filtering cells for separation of solutions over a wide pH range (from 0 to 14) at high temperatures and pressures (1 to10 Mpa), and in corrosive media.
These filters are brittle and rather costly because of energy intensive technology of their fabrication. Ceramic filters are readily recoup themselves owing to their high performance characteristics and long service life (upto ten years).
NIIST has developed a process for making ultra filtration membranes in which a thin layer about 100 nm titanium is coated on porous alumina of (1000-1500 nm thickness) substrate. A pilot plant for treatment of industrial water has been fabricated and is under evaluation in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL),Bangalore.
The below links may be useful for more details and information
