Ceramic membrane is suitable for solid liquid separation in harsh conditions in process industry. Nowdays,even though the cost is so high compared with polymeric membrane,  ceramic membrane is more and more popularly in food ,petrol chemical , enviromention industry because of its unique perforance. How to select a suitable ceramic membrane for different kind of raw liquid with different process requirement?
>> Pore size & MWCO
For solid liquid separation with very strict requirement,  we can use Microfiltration or Ultrafiltration ceramic membrane. Pore size for option can be  200nm, 100nm, 50nm. 
For oily water separation like emulsion treatment in machinery  industry, 50nm or 40nm is recommended. 
For broth clarification, 200nm, 100nm can be optional , but sometimewe need to remove dissolved protein, in that case we have to use 40nm or 50KD or even lower MWCO. 
For some cases, we can combine polymeric spiral UF&NF with UF ceramic membranes as a integrated filtration system. 

>> Channel size
TFT can offer different kind of membrane with different size of channel, inside diamter of channel can be 1.5mm to 8.0mm. 
Small diamter channel is suitable for those liquid with low SS and low viscosity. Power consumption is low. 
Big diameter channel is suitable for those liquid with high SS and high viscosity. Power consumption is high. 

TFT has 20 years of experience and datas for a variety of materials in different industry. If you have a new project of processing , TFT team will evaluate the feasibility from technical and economical view.Or we will conduct a pilot test for you, to collect parameter and datas for scaling up design.

Inorganic membranes are made of inorganic materials like Al2O3, TiO2,SiC,316L..Noramally there are three types of inorganic membranes:  Al2O3 Ceramic membrane, SiC membrane  and 316L stainless steel membrane.  Compared with polymeric membranes, inorganic membrane has very unique specification:
* Acid & Alkali stability
* Oxidation stability
* Thermo stability
* Sovent stability
* Abrasive
* High flux 
The market of  inorganic membrane is seeing very fast increasing in recent years. 
316L stainless steel membrane is very strong in alikali situation, though the production cost is very very high compared with other membranes. SiC membranes have higher porosity and higher pure water flux. Both SiC and Al2O3 membranes are suitable for solid liquid separation in process industry. Compared with SiC membrane , Al2O3 membrane has lower price, which can be more acceptable in many cases which is cost sensitive.

When the ceramic membranes keep on running for a period of time, various components in the liquid may form blockages and pollution inside and on the surface of the membrane. The membrane foulant  can be oil, protein, microorganisms, polysaccharide, fiber, colloid, etc . If these pollutants adsorbed on the surface of the membrane layer and inside the membrane are not removed after some period, the filtration performance  will be greatly affected, and the filtering flux will be greatly reduced. Therefore, ceramic membrane must be cleaned and regenerated periodically to recover the performance. Physical and chemical cleaning methods can be used to remove pollutants on the separation membrane.
 
>> Physical cleaning
Physical cleaning is to remove pollutants from the membrane surface by mechanical methods. This method has the characteristics of not introducing new pollutants and simple cleaning steps. However, this method is only effective for membranes in the initial stage of fouling, and the cleaning effect cannot be lasting long time. Physical cleaning includes multiple methods, such as water rinsing, backflush, reverse rinsing, sponge ball washing, vibration washing, hydraulic washing, and ultrasonic washing.
 
>> Chemical cleaning
Chemical cleaning essentially uses the reaction of chemical reagents and deposits, dirt, corrosion products, and other pollutants that affect the flux rate and the quality of the produced water to remove pollutants from the membrane. These chemical reagents include acids, bases, chelating agents, oxidants, and compounding agents.

Ceramic membrane can keep stable running under very high temperture up to 150-200 Degree Celsius, with special thermal stable gaskets. But we have to prevent strong thermal shock to membranes during step switching. Change of temerature during system operation should be controled less than 10 Degree Celsius/Minutes.