A roadmap for the development and applications of silicon carbide membranes for liquid filtration: Recent advancements, challenges, and perspectives

Water scarcity and water pollution are major issues in today's world. Several industries including oil and gas, water treatment, wastewater treatment, and food and beverage processing have turned their attention to silicon carbide membranes to solve these issues, due to the increased water flux and enhanced mechanical, chemical, and thermal stability observed for this material. To shift the material dominance on the membrane market from polymeric and ceramic oxide to silicon carbide, a deep understanding of the fabrication of silicon carbide membranes is important. Therefore, this review focuses on the development of silicon carbide membranes from an industrial standpoint. The discussed approaches include the deposition of colloidal suspensions and polymeric precursors. In addition to describing the significant steps in the fabrication of silicon carbide membranes, the advantages, disadvantages, and remaining key challenges related to these approaches are emphasized. Furthermore, key aspects in the preparation of silicon carbide supports are presented to provide an understanding of how membrane support influences membrane performance. The wide range of silicon carbide membrane applications in water and wastewater treatment and other applications are then reviewed. Cleaning methods for silicon carbide membranes are also described to address fouling issues during filtration processes along with commercialization of these membranes. Finally, future perspectives on silicon carbide membrane material development and potential applications in other industrial sectors are discussed. Overall, this review paper aims to provide a roadmap for potential applications and further development of silicon carbide membranes in the field of liquid filtration.