Production of tubular ceramic membranes for microfiltration and ultrafiltration

Porous tubular ceramic membranes from tunisian clay have been prepared. After a pre-calcination in air at 750°C for two hours, a grinding, and sieving to 300 pm, natural clays noted Sl I and S12 were mixed with organic additives in view to elaborate a ceramic paste which can be extrudto form porous tubular configuration with uniform porous structures. The mean pore diameter and the porous volume, measured by merporosimetry, are equal to 9.2 μm and 39 % for Sl I and 5.9 μm and 48 % for S12 when they were repectively fired at 1040 °C and 1090°C. nese supports could be used for the coatings of microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes.