ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Synthesis of high-performance ceramic membrane support from iron-removed bauxite mud

Xiuwu Liu, Xingyu Wang, Dexin Kong, Songling Zhang, and Xueqing Chen

School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China

E-mail: tjxiuwu@163.com

Received: 15 December 2025  Accepted: 18 March 2026

Abstract:

Direct utilization of high iron bauxite mud for fabricating ceramic membrane supports often results in cracking during sintering. To address this issue, this study employed a hydrochloric acid (HCl) leaching pretreatment to remove iron, and the Fe₂O₃ content of bauxite mud was successfully reducing to below 1%. Under the optimized conditions-15% pore-forming agent, 1.5% binder, and a sintering temperature of 1300 °C, the resulting ceramic membrane supports exhibited superior physicochemical properties. The optimized support achieved a porosity of 37.63%, a flexural strength of 20.1 MPa, and a mean pore size of 1.21 μm, which also delivered high pure water flux of 7075 L/h·m²·MPa and demonstrated excellent chemical stability with acid and alkali corrosion rates as low as 1.39% and 0.52%, respectively. Furthermore, when tested with simulated industrial wastewater, the ceramic membrane support achieved 99.99% turbidity removal rate. Notably, the leaching by-products were efficiently recovered as Fe(OH)₃ and Al(OH)₃ with recovery efficiencies exceeding 99%.This work presents a sustainable route that combines waste valorization with high-value ceramic membrane supports synthesis.

Keywords: Bauxite mud; Iron removal; Acid leaching; Ceramic membrane support; Resource utilization

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-04825-2

Chemical Papers 80 (7) 7413–7424 (2026)