Preparation of Mullite Porous Ceramic Supports Using Solid Waste

Abstract

Cost-effective mullite porous ceramic membrane supports were prepared from molybdenum tailings with high silica content by in situ reaction at high temperature. The effects of activated carbon content (as a pore-forming agent), molybdenum tailings content, and the sintering system on the phase composition, microscopic morphology, open porosity, flexural strength of the ceramic membrane supports were systematically investigated. The preferred conditions identified in this work are: 6 wt % of activated carbon and 55 wt % of molybdenum tailings, sintering temperature of 1200°C and holding time of 2 h. They obtained a support with an open porosity of 17.6% and a flexural strength of 79.5 MPa. Compared with pure alumina porous ceramics, the sintering temperature in this experiment can be lowered by about 600°C and the flexural strength can be increased by about 30 MPa. Meanwhile, the consumption of raw materials is reduced, which drastically cuts production cost and benefits the environment.