Overview
A group of chemist led by Associate Professor Zhu Huai Yong is developing new filtration meshes from ceramic nanofibres. Ceramic meshes have the great advantage of tolerating high temperatures. This simplifies the cleaning and sterilization of the meshes, for example when filtration systems are working on biological products. Current ceramic filters, however, have a high rate of manufacturing defects such as pinholes and cracks, adding to the cost of manufacture. These meshes also introduce a large pressure gradient to filtration systems, resulting in low throughput.
- Research leader
- Organisational unit
- Lead unit Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Chemistry
Professor Huai Yong ZhuDetails
Dr Zhu and his team have addressed both of these problems in the construction of a new ceramic mesh from nanofibres of alumina and titania. Both of these compounds are found in abundant quantities in Queensland. Titania (titanium dioxide) may be extracted from rutile, found locally at Stradbroke Island, and Alumina is produced in Gladstone. Australia is the largest producer of both these minerals.
The QUT team is the first to construct ceramic meshes on a nanometer scale. These meshes allow a tenfold increase in the rate of flow over traditional ceramic membranes. The efficiency of exclusion of unwanted particles is over 96 percent.
Application of the new ceramic membranes includes the removal of viruses from water, air or blood.
