# US 10,870,607 B2 · Inorganic membrane filtration articles and methods thereof

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- Number: US 10,870,607 B2
- Document ID: US10870607B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/771,458
- Filed: 2016-10-27
- Published: 2018-11-01
- Granted: 2020-12-22
- Earliest claimed: 2015-10-30
- Assignees: Corning Incorporated
- Applicants: Corning Incorporated
- Inventors: Curtis Robert Fekety; Yunfeng Gu; Yanxia Ann Lu; Zhen Song
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10870607B2

## CPC

- C04B 38/0009: {characterised by features relating to the cell walls, e.g. wall thickness or distribution of pores in the walls}
- B01D 46/2429: {of the honeycomb walls or cells}
- B01D 46/24491: {Porosity}
- B01D 46/24492: {Pore diameter}
- B01D 46/247: {of the cells}
- B01D 46/2474: {of the walls along the length of the honeycomb}
- B01D 46/2484: {Cell density, area or aspect ratio}
- B01D 63/066: {with a porous block having membrane coated passages}
- B01D 69/02: characterised by their properties
- B01D 71/024: {Oxides}
- C04B 35/195: Alkaline earth aluminosilicates, e.g. cordierite {or anorthite}
- C04B 38/0006: {Honeycomb structures (from one or more corrugated sheets by winding or stacking C04B38/0083)}
- B01D 46/2482: {Thickness, height, width, length or diameter}
- C04B 2111/00215: {Mortar or concrete mixtures defined by their oxide composition}
- C04B 2111/00793: {as filters or diaphragms}
- C04B 2111/00801: {Membranes; Diaphragms}
- C04B 2235/32: Metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, or oxide-forming salts thereof, e.g. carbonates, nitrates, (oxy)hydroxides, chlorides
- C04B 2235/3201: Alkali metal oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3206: Magnesium oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
- C04B 2235/3208: Calcium oxide or oxide-forming salts thereof, e.g. lime
- C04B 2235/3217: Aluminum oxide or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. bauxite, alpha-alumina
- C04B 2235/349: Clays, e.g. bentonites, smectites such as montmorillonite, vermiculites or kaolines, e.g. illite, talc or sepiolite
- C04B 2235/5445: submicron sized, i.e. from 0,1 to 1 micron
- C04B 2235/606: Drying
- C04B 2235/72: Products characterised by the absence or the low content of specific components, e.g. alkali metal free alumina ceramics
- C04B 2235/79: Non-stoichiometric products, e.g. perovskites (ABO3) with an A/B-ratio other than 1
- C04B 2235/80: Phases present in the sintered or melt-cast ceramic products other than the main phase
- C04B 2235/96: Properties of ceramic products, e.g. mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, wear resistance
- C04B 2235/9692: Acid, alkali or halogen resistance
- C04B: LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE {(roofing granules E04D7/005)}; CERAMICS (devitrified glass-ceramics C03C10/00); REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
- B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28)

## Abstract

An inorganic membrane filtration article and methods for making the same. The membrane filtration article includes a sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb with a plurality of partition walls defining a plurality of open channels from an inlet end of the honeycomb to an outlet end of the honeycomb. The honeycomb is formed from a cordierite composition with low-sodium and/or low-potassium content for enhanced filtration performance.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A membrane filtration article comprising:
a sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb comprising a plurality of porous partition walls defining a plurality of open channels, the open channels extend in an axial direction from an inlet end to an outlet end of the honeycomb, and
a porous membrane layer with porosity from about 40% to about 60% on at least a portion of the porous partition walls,
wherein the plurality of partition walls include a composition comprising: Al2O3 32-38 wt. %; SiO2 47-53 wt. %; MgO 10-16 wt. %; Na2O 0.01-0.10 wt. %; CaO 0.01-0.15 wt. %; Fe2O3 0.4-1.0 wt. %; NiO 0.001-0.01 wt. %; and TiO2 0.1-0.5 wt. %;
wherein at least 95 wt. % of the composition of the porous partition walls is a cordierite crystalline phase,
wherein the porous membrane layer comprises at least 50 wt. % of a composition comprising:
Al2O3 31-37 wt. %; SiO2 45-51 wt. %; MgO 10-16 wt. % and (Na2O+K2O) 0.01-0.10 wt. %, and
wherein at least 95 wt. % of the composition of the porous membrane layer is a cordierite crystalline phase.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the composition of the porous partition walls includes K2O 0.01-0.03 wt. %.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb includes from 0.5 to 31 open channels per square centimeter of the inlet end.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein at least one of the porous partition walls have a thickness from 0.1 mm to 2.5 mm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the porous partition walls have pore diameters from about 1 micron to about 15 microns.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the porous partition walls of the sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb include a median pore diameter D50 from 2 microns to 10 microns.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the composition of the porous membrane layer includes CaO 0.05-0.15 wt. %; Fe2O3 0.3-1.0 wt. %; NiO 0.001-0.1 wt. %; and TiO2 0.2-0.8 wt. %.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the composition of the porous membrane layer includes Na2O 0.01-0.7 wt. % and K2O 0.01-0.03 wt. %.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the composition of the porous membrane layer includes 1 wt. % to 50 wt. % alumina.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The article of claim 8 wherein the porous membrane layer includes a median thickness from about 5 microns to about 25 microns.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein the porous membrane layer includes pore diameters from about 0.1 micron to about 5 microns.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The article of claim 8 wherein the porous membrane layer includes a median pore diameter D50 from about 0.2 microns to about 3 microns.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The article of claim 8 wherein the porous partition walls of the sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb having the porous membrane layer thereon have a water permeance from about 300 liters/hour/m2/bar to about 3,000 liters/hour/m2/bar.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein a subset of the open channels are plugged at the inlet end of the ceramic honeycomb.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1 wherein a subset of the open channels are plugged at the outlet end of the ceramic honeycomb.

### Claim 16

A membrane filtration article comprising:
a sintered flow-through ceramic honeycomb comprising a plurality of porous partition walls defining a plurality of open channels, the open channels extend in an axial direction from an inlet end to an outlet end of the honeycomb, and
a porous membrane layer with porosity from about 40% to about 60% on at least a portion of the porous partition walls,
wherein the plurality of partition walls include a composition comprising: Al2O3 32-38 wt. %; SiO2 47-53 wt. %; MgO 10-16 wt. %; Na2O 0.01-0.10 wt. %: CaO 0.01-0.15 wt. %; Fe2O3 0.4-1.0 wt. %; NiO 0.001-0.01 wt. %; and TiO2 0.1-0.5 wt. %;
wherein at least 97 wt. % of the composition of the porous partition walls is a cordierite crystalline phase,
wherein the porous membrane layer comprises at least 50 wt. % of a composition comprising:
Al2O3 31-37 wt. %; SiO2 45-51 wt. %; MgO 10-16 wt. %; and (Na2O+K2O) 0.01-0.10 wt. %, and
wherein at least 97 wt. % of the composition of the porous membrane layer is a cordierite crystalline phase.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The article of claim 16 wherein the porous membrane layer further comprises from 1 wt. % to 50 wt. % alumina.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The article of claim 16 wherein a subset of the open channels are plugged at the inlet end of the ceramic honeycomb.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The article of claim 16 wherein a subset of the open channels are plugged at the outlet end of the ceramic honeycomb.