The Essentials at a Glance
- CeramTec offers porous multi-channel tubes made of alumina (Al₂O₃) as ceramic supports for membranes used in cross-flow filtration.
- The application-specific separation layer - for example, made of alumina, titanium oxide, or zirconia - is applied to the support by the customer.
- The tubes are designed for microfiltration and ultrafiltration and are used in industries including food, pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental, and biotechnology.
- Published typical product data: tube lengths from 1 to 1.5 m, with configurations ranging from single-channel to 211-channel tubes.
What is a Ceramic Multi-Channel Tube for Cross-Flow Filtration?
A ceramic multi-channel tube is a porous membrane support with multiple parallel channels. In the products described here, the support tube is made of alumina (Al₂O₃). An application-specific separation layer is applied to its surface, for example, a layer made of alumina, titanium oxide, or zirconia.
CeramTec supplies these multi-channel tubes as mechanical supports for industrial cross-flow filtration. The customer applies the appropriate separation layer. The tube geometry, membrane design, and process conditions must be matched to the specific separation task and taken into account by plant engineers and membrane manufacturers during process design.
Compared with polymer membranes or sintered metals, technical ceramics can offer the following potential advantages for membrane applications:
- High mechanical strength
- High thermal resistance
- Resistance to aggressive media such as acids and alkalis
- High chemical inertness
- High permeate flux
- Backwashability to remove deposits from the surface
What Applications are Ceramic Filter Tubes suitable for in Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration?
Ceramic multi-channel tubes serve as membrane supports for a wide range of filtration applications, including:
- Food and beverages: Filtration of fruit juices, wine, and beer, as well as the processing of dairy products, gelatin, and fish press liquor.
- Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology: Cell separation, protein filtration, and clarification of fermentation broths.
- Chemical industry: Recovery of valuable substances, filtration of process media, and oil–water separation.
- Metal processing: Treatment of process baths, metalworking fluids, and rinse water.
- Water and environmental technology: Treatment of industrial wastewater, oilfield wastewater, and bilge water, as well as the recycling of wash water.
- Process media and residues: Recovery of alkaline solutions and treatment of digestate.
Suitability depends on the customer-applied separation layer, the medium, and the operating conditions and must be assessed for the specific application.