Porous ceramic supports, membranes, methods and uses thereof

A method of fabricating a ceramic paste, a porous ceramic support or a supported ceramic membrane, comprising:

• a) mixing a ceramic powder, a clay powder and a binder to form a mixture;
• b) kneading the mixture of step (a) in an aqueous or non-aqueous medium and a humectant to form a ceramic paste;
• and
• c) aging the ceramic paste for at least 24 h;
• wherein the ceramic powder is about 70 wt % to about 80 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• wherein the clay powder is about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• and
• wherein the ceramic powder has an average particle size of about 5 μm to about 20 μm.

A ceramic paste, comprising:

• a) a ceramic powder at about 70 wt % to about 80 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• b) a clay powder at about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• c) a binder at about 2 wt % to about 8 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• d) a humectant at about 0.1 wt % to about 1.5 wt % in the ceramic paste;
• and
• e) an aqueous medium;
• wherein the ceramic powder has an average particle size of about 5 μm to about 20 μm;
• wherein the ceramic paste has a viscosity of about 1×104 Pa·s to about 5×10+Pa·s at a shear rate of about 10−1 s−1;
• and
• wherein the ceramic paste has a yield flow pressure of about 1000 Pa to about 1500 Pa.

A ceramic support, comprising:

• a) a ceramic at about 85 wt % to about 95 wt % in the ceramic support;
• and
• b) a clay at about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % in the ceramic support;
• wherein the ceramic has an average particle size of about 5 μm to about 20 μm;
• and
• wherein the ceramic support comprises an asymmetric porous structure having an inner body conterminous to an outer surface;
• wherein the inner body further comprises a plurality of voids;
• wherein the ceramic support has a porosity level of about 30% to about 50%.