Elaboration of a new ceramic membrane support from Cameroonian clays, coconut husks and eggshells: Application for Escherichia coli bacteria retention

In this work, the feasibility to elaborate a membrane support for water treatment from Cameroonian clays, coconut husks and eggshells was assessed. Twenty-five plastic formulations with different percentage of raw materials were tested and consolidated by thermal treatment to get the membrane supports. Mercury porosimetry allowed to select five supports potentially eligible for water filtration since their porosities were higher than 50%. Mechanical resistance and water absorption studies then allowed to choose the best ceramic membrane support S1510 (made from clays 75%, coconut husks 15% and eggshells 10% after sintering at 900 °C). EDX, XRD, TGA/DSC, FTIR and SEM characterizations techniques were used to characterize the raw materials and selected membrane support. The selected support has 52% of porosity, a mean pore diameter of 0.08 μm and a water permeability of 14,013 L/h/m2/bar. The ability of the support to retain E. coli bacteria present in a contaminated water was finally assessed. Retention tests showed 90% of E. coli removal, making this membrane support interesting for microfiltration purpose.