Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) for municipal wastewater treatment- potential benefits, constraints, and future perspectives: An updated review

Abstract

The application of Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBRs) for municipal wastewater treatment has been made sufficiently sustainable for practical implementations. The potential benefits are significant as AnMBRs effectively remove a broad range of contaminants from wastewater for water reuse, degrade organics in wastewater to yield methane-rich biogas for resultant energy production, and concentrate nutrients for subsequent recovery for fertilizer production. However, there still exist some concerns requiring vigilant considerations to make AnMBRs economically and technically viable. This review paper briefly describes process fundamentals and the basic AnMBR configurations and highlights six major factors which obstruct the way to AnMBRs installations affecting their performance for municipal wastewater treatment: (i) organic strength, (ii) membrane fouling, (iii) salinity build-up, (iv) inhibitory substances, (v) temperature, and (vi) membrane stability. This review also covers the energy utilization and energy potential in AnMBRs aiming energy neutrality or positivity of the systems which entails the requirement to further determine the economics of AnMBRs. The implications and related discussions have also been made on future perspectives of the concurrent challenges being faced in AnMBRs operation.