Effect of Type and Content of Pore-forming Agents on Properties of Porous Alumina Membrane Support

Abstract

Porous ceramic membrane support with high porosity and high mechanical strength has been fabricated by adding the pore-forming agents, and using three particle sizes of alumina (coarse, medium and fine) as raw material. The effects of the type and the content of the pore-forming agents on the porosity, pore diameter and flexural strength of the membrane supports are studied in detailed. The results show that both the type and the content of the pore-forming agent can be effectively optimized to improve the mechanical and microstructural properties of the alumina support. Added 5 wt% of starch as the pore-forming agent, the porous ceramic membrane support calcinated at 1650°C for 2 h has the porosity of >33%, the flexural strength of > 45 MPa, the pore size of about 6∼8 μm. The amount of pore-forming agent plays a decisive role on the porosity and pore size of porous ceramic membrane support based on SEM characterization.