Rheology and Chemorheology Behavior of Alumina/Polysaccharide Suspensions in Ceramic Membranes Production

Gholizadeh, ٍEbrahim; Babaluo, Ali Akbar

Rheology and Chemorheology Behavior of Alumina/Polysaccharide Suspensions in Ceramic Membranes Production

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

ٍ. Gholizadeh

A. A. babaluo

Nanostructure Materials Research Centre, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tabriz University of Technology, Tabriz, I.R. IRAN.

Abstract

Research subject: Membranes and membrane processes have gained significant importance in recent decades, particularly in industries such as water treatment, oil processing, gas separation, and desalination. Among these, ceramic membranes are increasingly preferred due to their outstanding properties, including high mechanical, chemical, and thermal stability, suitable porosity, and high permeation flux. This study focuses on examining the characteristics of alumina ceramic suspensions used in the gel-casting method for fabricating ceramic membranes.

Research approach: This research investigates the influence of polysaccharide compounds as organic additives and binders in the fabrication of ceramic membranes. To optimize the microstructure, the study explores the rheological behavior and gelation time (chemo-rheology) of alumina ceramic powder–polysaccharide suspensions. Key parameters—including temperature, the presence or absence of ceramic powder, and the concentrations of cross-linking agent and binder—were systematically analyzed for their effects on gelation time. Additionally, the microstructure of the final membranes was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Main results:The results demonstrated that the alumina–polysaccharide system, combined with an aldehyde-based cross-linking agent, is a promising approach for producing complex and robust ceramic green bodies. It was found that at ceramic powder loadings higher than 30 vol%, an increase in temperature by 5–10 °C, along with a two- to threefold increase in the contents of the polysaccharide binder and aldehyde-based cross-linking agent, significantly reduced the gelation time. These findings underscore the critical importance of precisely controlling parameters such as temperature and additive concentrations at a given ceramic powder loading to achieve optimal membrane properties.

Keywords

Rheology

chemorheology

Polysaccharide

Ceramic membrane

Alumina

Subjects

membrane

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