Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation
The increasing demand for sustainable water treatment technologies has driven the development of advanced ceramic membranes with tailored properties. This study explores the fabrication of ceramic membranes using phosphate tailings and clay lithologies as alternative raw materials, offering a sustai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Membranes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/2/52 |
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| author | Amine El Azizi Hanane El Harouachi Dounia Ahoudi Soundouss Maliki Mohammed Mansori Mohamed Loutou |
| author_facet | Amine El Azizi Hanane El Harouachi Dounia Ahoudi Soundouss Maliki Mohammed Mansori Mohamed Loutou |
| author_sort | Amine El Azizi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increasing demand for sustainable water treatment technologies has driven the development of advanced ceramic membranes with tailored properties. This study explores the fabrication of ceramic membranes using phosphate tailings and clay lithologies as alternative raw materials, offering a sustainable and cost-effective approach to membrane production. The focus is on tailoring membrane porosity through the deposition of multilayered alkali-activated coatings, leveraging geopolymerization chemistry to enhance structural and functional performance. The manufactured ceramic membranes were investigated using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and a filtration test pilot. Results revealed the suitability of both phosphate tailing and the clay for membrane processing, while alkali activation effectively modulates the membrane’s porosity (from 1–10 μm to 0.1–1 μm) and mechanical strength (up to 20 MPa). Both tailored and untailored membranes demonstrated favorable performance. Key findings include the formation of a well-interconnected pore network and improved compressive strength, which resulted in sustained filtration performance under challenging operational conditions. The membranes demonstrated their suitability for environmental and industrial applications by achieving high efficiency in industrial effluent filtration tests. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8ae91f88dc84a7d9cf77a14abfe4739 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8ae91f88dc84a7d9cf77a14abfe47392025-08-20T03:12:15ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752025-02-011525210.3390/membranes15020052Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali ActivationAmine El Azizi0Hanane El Harouachi1Dounia Ahoudi2Soundouss Maliki3Mohammed Mansori4Mohamed Loutou5Laboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Environment (LCM2E), Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (FPN), Mohammed First University, B.P. 300, Selouane 62700, MoroccoLaboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Environment (LCM2E), Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (FPN), Mohammed First University, B.P. 300, Selouane 62700, MoroccoLaboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Environment (LCM2E), Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (FPN), Mohammed First University, B.P. 300, Selouane 62700, MoroccoLaboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Environment (LCM2E), Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (FPN), Mohammed First University, B.P. 300, Selouane 62700, MoroccoIMED-Lab, Laboratory of Innovative Materials, Energy and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Science and Technology, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), Marrakech 40000, MoroccoLaboratory of Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Environment (LCM2E), Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (FPN), Mohammed First University, B.P. 300, Selouane 62700, MoroccoThe increasing demand for sustainable water treatment technologies has driven the development of advanced ceramic membranes with tailored properties. This study explores the fabrication of ceramic membranes using phosphate tailings and clay lithologies as alternative raw materials, offering a sustainable and cost-effective approach to membrane production. The focus is on tailoring membrane porosity through the deposition of multilayered alkali-activated coatings, leveraging geopolymerization chemistry to enhance structural and functional performance. The manufactured ceramic membranes were investigated using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and a filtration test pilot. Results revealed the suitability of both phosphate tailing and the clay for membrane processing, while alkali activation effectively modulates the membrane’s porosity (from 1–10 μm to 0.1–1 μm) and mechanical strength (up to 20 MPa). Both tailored and untailored membranes demonstrated favorable performance. Key findings include the formation of a well-interconnected pore network and improved compressive strength, which resulted in sustained filtration performance under challenging operational conditions. The membranes demonstrated their suitability for environmental and industrial applications by achieving high efficiency in industrial effluent filtration tests.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/2/52ceramic membranesphosphate tailingsclay lithologiesalkali-activated materialsporosity tailoringwastewater filtration |
| spellingShingle | Amine El Azizi Hanane El Harouachi Dounia Ahoudi Soundouss Maliki Mohammed Mansori Mohamed Loutou Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation Membranes ceramic membranes phosphate tailings clay lithologies alkali-activated materials porosity tailoring wastewater filtration |
| title | Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation |
| title_full | Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation |
| title_fullStr | Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation |
| title_short | Phosphate Tailings and Clay-Based Ceramic Membranes: Tailoring Microstructure and Filtration Properties via Alkali Activation |
| title_sort | phosphate tailings and clay based ceramic membranes tailoring microstructure and filtration properties via alkali activation |
| topic | ceramic membranes phosphate tailings clay lithologies alkali-activated materials porosity tailoring wastewater filtration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/2/52 |
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