Cleaning Methods for the Fouled Al_2O_3 Ceramic Microfiltration Membrane in Oil-Water Separation Process

Since Al2 O3 ceramic microfiltration membrane were fouled and the separation performance was reduced significantly in oil-water separation process,the fouled membrane was cleaned with acid or base cleaning,acid-base alternately cleaning,calcined and acid cleaning methods in this experiment.The purified water permeation flux variation of the membrane with different cleaning method was studied.The results show the purified water permeation flux of the membrane can be recovered to 87% of the original purified water permeation flux,when the fouled membrane was calcined at 600℃ and then cleaned with 0.5 mo·ll-1HNO3.By analyzing the microstructure of the membrane,it shows the contaminants can be removed effectively from the membrane surface and pores.