This report describes the methods and results of the mechanical characterization of a ceramic material to be used for realizing a membrane module for oxygen separation.

The equipment and procedures used for the tests are also described. The tests were conducted at 950 °C, a temperature that is representative of the expected operating conditions of the modules in an industrial environment; the results obtained are compared with previously acquired and documented results of similar tests also conducted at room temperature.

The data obtained from the individual tests were processed according to the provisions of international standards on the characterization of ceramic materials, and two parameters – deduced by applying Weibull statistics to acquired data – were identified to be used in the design phase of modules in order to take into account the mechanical resistance of the material to be used.

The probability of breakage of some possible different versions of the ceramic modules was estimated based on the data deduced from the results of hot mechanical tests; in the geometries of the modules, the channels in which the mixture of the sweep gas and the oxygen permeated through the membrane will run have different widths that were established after considering the actual – and verified – practical feasibility of the artifacts to be assembled to make up the module.