Preparation of a highly permeable alumina membrane via wet film phase inversion

Abstract

Wet film phase inversion technique has been applied for the single-step preparation of an alumina membrane for the first time. During the phase inversion process of cellulose acetate (CA), orientated microtubular pores were formed and the membrane with narrow pore size distribution, good connectivity and small tortuosity was achieved on the as-prepared macroporous ceramic support. The membrane prepared using the slurry with an α-Al₂O₃/CA ratio of 15.83/4.17 exhibited a pore size distribution centered at about 0.28 μm and a water permeance of 1327 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹.