The preparation and characterizations of pyrophyllite-diatomite composite support layers

Recently, porous ceramic membranes have become a subject of significant interest because of their outstanding thermal and chemical stability. To reduce the high manufacturing costs of these porous ceramic membranes, recent research has investigated the utilization of low-cost natural materials. Therefore, in this paper, we report the results of our efforts to determine whether we could utilize sodium borate as a bonding phase, and we also report the results of an attempt to prepare a pyrophyllite-diatomite composite support layer that could effectively filter the ISO 12103-1 A3 test dust while exhibiting acceptable water permeability. The pore characteristics of the specimens were studied by scanning electron micrography, mercury porosimetry, capillary flow porosimetry, and a dead-end microfiltration system with particle counters.