Preparation of porous ceramic supports from spodumene mineral residue: Materials characterization and performance optimization

With the rapid development of the lithium battery industry, the resource utilization of lithium slag (LS) has become an urgent issue. Porous ceramic supports are fabricated herein using LS and α-Al 2 O 3 as the primary raw materials, with cornstarch serving as a pore-forming agent. The effects of raw material composition and sintering temperature on the structure and performance of the supports are systematically investigated. The optimal performance is achieved with an LS to α-Al 2 O 3 mass ratio of 6:4, a cornstarch content of 3.0 wt%, and a sintering temperature of 1200 °C. Under these conditions, the ceramic support exhibits an open porosity of 39.0 %, an average pore size of 0.66 μm, and a flexural strength of 40.9 MPa. At a filtration pressure of 0.52 bar, the water flux reaches 8029 L/(m 2  h bar) and the support shows excellent resistance to acidic and alkaline conditions. The turbidity of tap water decreased from 0.53 to 0.28 NTU after filtration, indicating that the ceramic support effectively removed larger suspended particles and improved the quality of the effluent. This study therefore provides a novel approach for the resourceful utilization of LS and offers a cost-effective solution for water treatment.