MULTILAYER, MICRO- AND NANOPOROUS MEMBRANES WITH CONTROLLED PORE SIZES FOR WATER SEPARATION AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF

摘要

The present invention relates to design and manufacture of multilayer sintered membranes made from metals and inorganic compounds (ceramics, silicate, clay, zeolites, phosphates, etc.). The membranes are designated for separation of water. They comprise at least one layer having nanopores commensurable with the size of water molecules. The membranes comprise: (a) supporting metallic layer having pore size 1-500 microns, (b) metallic interlayer having pore size <2 micron, (c) sublayer with local regular protrusions of the interlayer into the supporting layer to increase service life of the membrane, and (d) one nanoporous ceramic or metallic top layer having pore size in the range of 1-15 angstroms. The invented design and method allow the manufacture of cost-effective multilayer membranes containing nanoporous layer with controlled pore sizes in each layer and optimal morphology of pores that provides selective transport of molecules during filtration and separation of liquids.

主权项

1. A multilayer, micro- and nanoporous membrane with controlled pore sizes for water separation comprising the following components:
(a) a porous supporting metallic layer having pore size in the range of 1-500 microns, (b) at least one porous metallic interlayer having pore size less than 1 micron, (c) a sublayer between the supporting metallic layer and interlayer with local regular protrusions of the interlayer into the supporting metallic layer in order to improve adhesive strength between these layers, which increases service life of the multilayer membrane because the adhesive strength is now greater than stresses that appear during the back flow of liquid through the membrane, and (d) at least one nanoporous ceramic or metallic or aluminosilicate layer having pore size in the range of 1-15 angstroms,wherein pores in the supporting layer and interlayer have an ellipse-like morphology at the ratio of a short axis A to a long axis B in the range from A:B=1:1.5 to A:B=1:2.3 in order to improve the permeance of water molecules through the membrane.