Fabrication of a Diatomite–Kaolin Composite Ceramic Membrane for Reducing the
Turbidity of Sugarcane Wastewater In this research, composite ceramic membranes
based on diatomite and kaolin were fabricated and evaluated with the aim of
reducing the turbidity of sugarcane wastewater. The membranes were prepared by
the disk-forming method and, after drying, were sintered at an appropriate
temperature. To investigate the structural and phase characteristics of the samples,
X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force
microscopy (AFM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed.The
XRD results indicated the formation of stable phases and the absence of
decomposition of the main components after the sintering process. SEM and AFM
images showed that increasing the diatomite ratio in the composition led to an
increase in surface porosity and a more uniform pore distribution. The porosity and
permeate flux tests also revealed that increasing the amount of diatomite resulted in
higher effective porosity and improved membrane permeability. The thermal
analysis (TGA) showed that the produced membranes exhibited suitable thermal
stability, and their weight remained almost constant at high temperature ranges.The
performance tests in the treatment of sugarcane wastewater demonstrated that the
membranes possessed a high capability in turbidity removal. The MD15%
membrane, with an outlet turbidity of 0.50 NTU, achieved the highest removal
efficiency (97.22%) compared to the initial feed turbidity of 18.01 NTU. Based on
the obtained results, increasing the proportion of diatomite in the membrane
composition enhances porosity, increases permeate flux, and improves filtration
efficiency in the removal of suspended particles from sugarcane wastewater.