Enhancing microfiltration membrane efficiency for treating industrial wastewater derived from sugar industry waste through Doehlert design optimization

Abstract

To address the challenges of treating industrial wastewater, the scientific community must engineer novel membrane materials that prioritize innovation, cost-efficiency, and environmental sustainability. The present study describes the fabrication and characterization of a newly designed, economically viable planar microfiltration ceramic membrane made from sugar scum and indigenous Moroccan clay. Utilizing the Doehlert design-based Response Surface Methodology, optimization of preparation conditions was conducted to investigate the effects of sugar scum quantity (5–30 %), sintering temperature (800–1000 °C), and sintering time (60–180 min) on mechanical strength, water absorption, and porosity. The enhanced membrane displays a compressive strength of 56.10 MPa, a porosity of 42.71 %, a permeability of 1246 L h −1 m −2 bar −1 , and an average pore size of 0.88 µm. Additionally, it demonstrates outstanding resistance to chemical corrosion in basic environments. The optimal clay membrane underwent industrial wastewater filtration and performed admirably as a microfiltration membrane. It had impressive removal rates of 98.26 % for turbidity, 62.86 % for chemical oxygen demand (COD), and 46.14 % for electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the cleaning procedure restored 88 % of the membrane's original water permeability. • Low cost and high performance porous ceramic membrane was manufactured from sugar scum and clay. • The porous ceramic membrane was prepared using Experimental design. • The porous ceramic membrane displays a compressive strength of 56.1MPa and a porosity of 42.71%. • Fabricated ceramic membrane can be potentially used in water treatment applications.