Removal of Water from Spent Phosphoric Acid Using a Sandwich Silicon Carbide Ceramic Membrane

Abstract It is important to develop an energy‐ and cost‐efficient method of concentrating phosphoric acid because it is widely used in several industries. Three different ceramic membranes, namely, a silicon carbide (SiC) membrane, a TiO 2 ‐coated SiC membrane, and a sandwich membrane of TiO 2 between SiC, were successfully applied for the selective separation of water from spent phosphoric acid. SiC was selected as raw material, TiO 2 as supporting material. The membrane was characterized by various instruments to check all parameters. Using the solution diffusion, statistical modeling of these membranes was performed and the membrane parameters, such as membrane diffusivity and mass transfer coefficient, were calculated. By reducing the porosity of the membrane, the desired separation can be improved.