La0·8Mn0·2FeO3 impregnated ceramic membrane for membrane fouling elimination via peroxymonosulfate activation

To endow SiC ceramic membranes a catalytic self-cleaning capability, a pore-functionalized SiC ceramic membrane with impregnated a perovskite-type catalyst La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 was fabricated by a urea-assisted one-step combustion method. Diffraction of X-ray (XRD), canning electronic microscopy (SEM) with an energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to investigate the effects of the impregnating of La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 on SiC membrane pore-structure (La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 -CM). The catalytic self-cleaning performance of the as-prepared membranes was assessed through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation under a cross-flow filtration mode. Results indicate that La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 has been successfully impregnated into the macropores of SiC membranes without pore blocking, and 92.4 % of the flux recovery rate (FRR) was achieved when the PMS concentration was 70 mM and catalytic flushing time was 45 min. Therefore, the La 0 · 8 Mn 0 · 2 FeO 3 impregnated SiC membrane exhibited excellent catalytic self-cleaning property, which can effectively avoid the environmental pollution and the deterioration of membrane materials caused by chemical cleaning for membrane fouling . In addition, the radical quenching experiment and electron spin resonance (EPR) tests were conducted in the catalytic self-cleaning process, and the results suggested that the hydroxyl radical (⋅OH) and sulfate radical (SO 4 • ‾) are simultaneously captured and ⋅OH is the dominant active species. This study embarks on a novel and environmental friendly membrane cleaning approach for irreversible fouling eliminates in diverse membrane separation applications.