Ceramic membrane filtration equipment and ultrafiltration membrane filtration equipment have their own characteristics in membrane separation technology, the main differences are as follows:
Material and structure
Ceramic membrane
- Material: made of inorganic materials (such as alumina, zirconia, silicon carbide, etc.).
- Structure: rigid porous structure, high mechanical strength, high temperature, high pressure and chemical corrosion resistance.
- Lifespan: long (up to 5-10 years), can be repeatedly cleaned and regenerated.
Ultrafiltration membrane
- Material: mostly organic polymer materials (such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyacrylonitrile, PVDF, etc.).
- Structure: flexible or semi-rigid structure, weak resistance to mechanical impact.
- Life: short (usually 2-5 years), vulnerable to pollution or chemical corrosion, need to be replaced regularly.
Separation precision and pore size
Ceramic membrane
- Pore size range: wide (0.05 micron to 1 micron), covering microfiltration (MF) and some ultrafiltration (UF) levels.
- Application: suitable for separating large particles, bacteria, oil and water emulsions, etc. Some precision ceramic membranes can reach the level of nanofiltration (NF).
Ultrafiltration Membrane
- Pore size range: 0.01-0.1 micron, belonging to the ultrafiltration level.
- Application: Mainly retain large molecules such as proteins, colloids, viruses, etc., but have no ability to retain small molecules (e.g. salt).
Operating conditions
Ceramic membrane
- Temperature resistance: can withstand high temperature above 100℃, suitable for high temperature liquid treatment.
- Chemical resistance: resistant to strong acid, strong alkali and organic solvents, suitable for corrosive environments.
- Pressure: Higher operating pressure is required (usually 0.5-10 bar).
Ultrafiltration membrane
- Temperature resistance: generally limited to 40-60℃, high temperature will easily lead to membrane deformation.
- Chemical resistance: sensitive to strong acid and alkali, need to control pH range (e.g. 2-12).
- Pressure: low operating pressure (0.1-5 bar).
Application areas
Ceramic membrane
- Industrial fields: chemical, petroleum (oil and water separation), food (high temperature sterilization), pharmaceutical (clarification of fermentation liquid), wastewater treatment (containing corrosive wastewater).
- Characteristics: Suitable for high pollution, high temperature, corrosive and complex systems.
Ultrafiltration membrane
- Civil and light industry: drinking water purification, biopharmaceuticals (protein concentration), dairy products (whey separation), fruit juice clarification.
- Characteristics: suitable for fine separation under mild conditions and lower cost.
Cost and Maintenance
Ceramic membrane
- Initial cost: High (complex materials and manufacturing process).
- Maintenance cost: low (can be cleaned repeatedly, long life).
Ultrafiltration membrane
- Initial cost: Low (organic materials are easy to process).
- Maintenance cost: High (frequent replacement of membrane modules).
Cleaning method
Ceramic membrane
- Supports high intensity cleaning: high temperature steam sterilization, strong acid/alkali chemical cleaning, backwashing.
- Stronger anti-pollution ability.
Ultrafiltration membrane
- Requires mild cleaning (e.g., neutral detergent, low-pressure backwashing) to avoid membrane structure damage.
- Susceptible to organic matter or colloid contamination, faster flux decay.
Suggestions
Choose ceramic membrane: to deal with high temperature, corrosive liquids or long-term continuous operation scenarios (e.g., chemical wastewater, food high temperature sterilization).
Choose ultrafiltration membranes: Fine separations (e.g., drinking water purification, concentration of biological products) with limited budgets and mild operating conditions.
The two technologies can complement each other, e.g. in complex processes (ceramic membrane pre-treatment + ultrafiltration membrane fine treatment).