Porous piezoelectric BCTZ membranes for water microfiltration

Microfiltration (MF) membranes are essential for recycling water from food industry wastewater. However, their efficiency is often hindered by membrane fouling—a buildup of impurities that reduces permeability.Ceramic membranes (CMs) outperform their polymeric counterparts in durability and lifespan, although their higher cost remains a challenge. To fully unlock their potential, improving the antifouling performance of CMs is critical. Among these, self-cleaning piezoelectric membranes have shown remarkable antifouling and defouling capabilities. As part of the SELWA project, funded by NextGenerationEU - European Union, this work focuses on the development of porous, lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (BCTZ system) using sacrificial pore-forming agents, freeze casting, and binder jetting additive manufacturing processes. This poster presents initial findings on the synthesis and fabrication of BCTZ porous ceramics (Fig. 1), correlating their microstructure and ferroelectric properties with preliminary tests on water permeability and filtration performance.