Inorganic Membranes Research Articles

Comparison of the performance of inorganic ultrafiltration and organic nanofiltration membranes for removal of nitrate contamination of groundwater

Comparison of the performance of inorganic ultrafiltration and organic nanofiltration membranes for removal of nitrate contamination of groundwater

High-efficiency helium separation through an inorganic graphenylene membrane: a theoretical study.

The rising demand for helium resources makes the effective separation of helium from natural gas increasingly important in the cryogenics industry and welding technology. However, most commonly used membranes cannot efficiently separate helium from the small molecules in natural gas. In this work, using first-principles calculations, combined with molecular dynamics simulations, we showed that efficient separation of helium from natural gas molecules (H2O, CO2, CO, CH4, and N2) as well as noble gas molecules (Ne and Ar) can be achieved in an inorganic graphenylene (IGP) membrane with high selectivities. In particular, molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that high helium permeance (approximately 10-4 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) can be achieved over a wide range of temperatures (100 to 500 K) with high selectivity over other gas molecules. The high permeance and selectivity of the IGP monolayer membrane to helium are quite promising for industrial applications.

Recent progress in molecular engineering to tailor organic–inorganic interfaces in composite membranes

Recent advances in molecular engineering of organic–inorganic composite membranes are presented.

Low cost pyrrhotite ash/clay-based inorganic membrane for industrial wastewaters treatment

The elaboration and optimization of a low-cost microfiltration membrane based on natural clay and pyrrhotite ash solid waste were performed leading to a change in the membrane surface morphology and improved its hydrophobicity. The impact of pyrrhotite ash fraction and sintering temperature on mineralogy, morphology, porosity, permeability, mechanical strength and corrosion resistance was evaluated. The highest values of permeability and mechanical strength were 22.88 10−7 m3/h m².kPa and 27.42 MPa respectively, for the membrane prepared with 50 % of pyrrhotite ash and sintered at 1000 °C. Two different tannery and dairy industrial wastewaters were tested. The filtration efficiency at different transmembrane pressures was evaluated by the rejection rate of turbidity, conductivity, pH, oil and fat. The performance of conventional treatment such as sedimentation compared to MF confirmed that the elaborated membrane consists the best alternative, with a removal rate of organic oil and fat about 94 %, and practically a total reduction of water turbidity up to 100 %, compared to sedimentation with only 15 % and 72 % respectively, the conductivity of permeate was not much different from the conductivity of the raw wastewater, and only a few percent for chrome. Additionally, the four models of Hermia were adopted to study the membrane fouling phenomena where the cake formation model fits best to the flow decline experimental data during the filtration of both effluents. The process developed in this investigation can be considered an eco-friendly one since it tends to valorize the pyrrhotite ash solid waste and preserve natural clay, moreover, it staves off energy waste by avoiding dry step during the thermal treatment of ceramics.

A review and future prospect of polymer blend mixed matrix membrane for CO2 separation

In recent years, carbon capture technology has received much attention to limit the adverse effect caused by rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. Membrane technology has risen as an attractive option for carbon capture as it is less energy–intensive and more environmentally friendly compared with adsorption, absorption, and cryogenic separation. Polymeric membranes dominate the gas separation industries as they are cheaper and easier to fabricate compared with inorganic membranes but are bound to the permeance-selectivity trade-off limitation. Recently, researchers have been modifying polymeric membrane by polymer blending and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) to overcome the limitation. Polymer blending yields a polymer blend that combines the benefits of two or more polymeric material. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyethersulfone (PES) are common polymeric materials used in the gas separation industry for membrane fabrication. PEG and PES were reviewed in this paper as potential polymer blends that efficiently separate CO2 due to their chemical characteristics. Another technique to overcome the trade-off limitation is fabricating MMMs that incorporate both polymeric membrane material and inorganic filler. However, MMM fabrication presents challenges such as polymer-filler incompatibility, void formation, and filler agglomeration due to unsuitable filler. Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-F) were reviewed as fillers that are able to overcome the dispersion and polymer-compatibility issues and increase the gas separation performance of membranes. Hence, MMM that is fabricated from PEG, PES, and MWCNTs-F that combines both polymer blending and MMM techniques is believed to be a breakthrough for CO2/N2 separation.

Pervaporation membrane based on laterite zeolite-geopolymer for ethanol-water separation

In recent years, the worldwide production of ethanol as a liquid biofuel has reached 27 billion gallons per year. The United States and Brazil are the main producers of ethanol, which account for 58% and 27% of total production, respectively. Ethanol has been known as a leading biofuel and as an additive to gasoline. In the USA, ethanol was produced from corn, from sugarcane in Brazil, and grains in Europe. The price of corn, sugarcane, grains and crude oil (gasoline) have a direct impact on the price of ethanol. The most common purification technique utilized in the ethanol industry is rectification followed by azeotropic distillation. This method is energy consume and its separation capacity is inadequate. Pervaporation system with inorganic membrane has been proposed as a new method for ethanol purification. The main objective of this research is to produce and characterize the performance of inorganic membrane made from a zeolite-geopolymer for pervaporation of ethanol-water separation. Zeolite was produced through geopolymerisation route using laterite as raw material. The aluminous iron type of laterite was dehydroxylated at 750 °C for 4 h to enhance its reactivity in a high alkali environment. The elemental compositions of laterite were examined by using x-ray fluorescence (XRF). The structure, phase and chemical compositions of zeolite-geopolymer were measured by using the x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The microstructure of the resulting membrane was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Liquid N2 absorption based on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method was used to determine the pore size distribution of the zeolite-geopolymer membrane. The pervaporation experiment was performed by using two membranes having different compositions (designated as K1 and K2) at temperature 50 °C and 70 °C. The measurement results showed that there are two types of zeolites produced namely sodalite and sodium silicate hexahydrate. The crystalline level of both zeolites is very high and regular in shape based on SEM examination. BET measurements showed that the pore size of K1 ranging from 15 to 900 Å and K2 ranging from 15 to 2000 Å. The results of pervaporation experiments showed that the selectivity of both membranes was very low due to high permeation flux. It is proposed that zeolite-geopolymer membranes should be coated with hydrophobic materials to reduce the hydrophilic properties of geopolymer and hence become more feasible for ethanol purification through pervaporation system.

Membranes for CO2 /CH4 and CO2/N2 Gas Separation

AbstractMembrane technology has emerged as a leading tool worldwide for effective CO2 separation because of its well‐known advantages, including high surface area, compact design, ease of maintenance, environmentally friendly nature, and cost‐effectiveness. Polymeric and inorganic membranes are generally utilized for the separation of gas mixtures. The mixed‐matrix membrane (MMM) utilizes the advantages of both polymeric and inorganic membranes to surpass the trade‐off limits. The high permeability and selectivity of MMMs by incorporating different types of fillers exhibit the best performance for CO2 separation from natural gas and other flue gases. The recent progress made in the field of MMMs having different types of fillers is emphasized. Specifically, CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 separation from various types of MMMs are comprehensively reviewed that are closely relevant to natural gas purification and compositional flue gas treatment

Negatively charged organic–inorganic hybrid silica nanofiltration membranes for lithium extraction

Abstract Effective extraction of lithium from high Mg2+/Li+ ratio brine lakes is of great challenge. In this work, organic–inorganic hybrid silica nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared by dip-coating a 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE)-derived separation layer on tubular TiO2 support, for efficient separation of LiCl and MgCl2 salt solutions. We found that the membrane calcinated at 400 °C (M1–400) could exhibit a narrow pore size distribution (0.63–1.66 nm) owing to the dehydroxylation and the thermal degradation of the organic bridge groups. All as-prepared membranes exhibited higher rejections to LiCl than to MgCl2, which was attributed to the negative charge of the membrane surfaces. The rejection for LiCl and MgCl2 followed the order: LiCl > MgCl2, revealing that Donnan exclusion effect dominated the salt rejection mechanism. In addition, the triple-coated membrane calcined at 400 °C (M3–400) exhibited a permeability of about 9.5 L ∙ m−2 ∙ h−1 ∙ bar−1 for LiCl or MgCl2 solutions, with rejections of 74.7% and 20.3% to LiCl and MgCl2, respectively, under the transmembrane pressure at 6 bar. Compared with the previous reported performance of NF membranes for Mg2+/Li+ separation, the overall performance of M3–400 is highly competitive. Therefore, this work may provide new insight into designing robust silica-based ceramic NF membranes with negative charge for efficient lithium extraction from salt lakes.

KINETIC AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ULTRAFILTRATIONAL MEMBRANES AT SEPARATION OF SOLUTIONS CONTAINING SODIUM LAURYLSULPHATE

In work the generalized analysis of literary data on a research of relative permeability ratio of various types of porous organic and inorganic membranes was submitted. Application of a method of X-ray analysis of samples of the semipermeable ultrafiltrational membranes on a diffractometer of DRON-3 and a specific output flow on a flat-chamber ultrafiltration unit is shown. In materials of work the pilot and theoretical studies on isokinetic zones and structural characteristics of polymeric semipermeable membranes in the course of ultrafiltrational separation of the technological solutions containing the anionic and fissile surface substances are conducted. It is experimentally confirmed that kinetic curves on a specific output flow have two isokinetic zones. The first zone, the stage of the ultrafiltration process, proceeds quickly, lasts only a few minutes - 7.8 min and 13.05 min, the second zone is slower with duration of about 30 min and 60 min for ultrafiltration cellulose acetate membranes of the UAM-100 and UAM-50 series, respectively. The revealed isokinetic zones differ in characteristic times, which differ by orders of magnitude, and, as a result, the final kinetic dependence has an exponential form. The comparative analysis of roentgenograms allows to note coincidence of angles of diffraction, but significant redistribution of intensity of reflexes in air-dried and working sapless in the range of scattering angles 2θ from 8°-35°. The obtained experimental data and their comparison with literary, indicate the same set of the diffraction reflexes at corners 2θ = 17°; 22°; 25° for both samples of membranes that corresponds to the crystal reflexes of membranes created from polyamide fibers (nylon).

Materials Synthesis and Catalysis in Microfluidic Devices: Prebiotic Chemistry in Mineral Membranes

AbstractThe processes that led to the origins of life possibly occurred in the inorganic precipitate membranes of alkaline hydrothermal vents. These geochemical systems provide spatial confinement, cross‐membrane gradients, and catalytic surfaces. The experimental exploration of catalysis in these materials is challenging due to the vastness of the underlying parameter space and the need to maintain nonequilibrium conditions for long times. Microfluidic approaches offer an efficient solution to some of these problems by allowing the formation of mineral membranes at the interface of flowing reactant solutions and the control of steep gradients. In this minireview, we summarize recent progress in the production of mineral membranes using laminar microfluidic devices and discuss their catalytic properties in the context of prebiotic chemistry. Examples of catalytic reactions include the formation of pyrophosphate, peptides, and thioesters in precipitates containing iron, nickel, and calcium.

The Investigation of Thermodynamic and Kinetic Effects in TiO2/Al2O3/ PVDF Composite Membrane Forming Process

Background: The addition of inorganic nano dioxide (TiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) particles into the organic polymer material Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) can enhance the composite membranes’ hydrophilicity and anti-pollution capacity in the water treatment process. Objective: The study aimed to investigate thermodynamic and kinetic effects of the inorganic nanoparticles on composite membrane in the membrane forming process. Method: The turbid point titration method was adopted to determine casting solution phase separation point of the system and draw ternary phase diagrams. Ternary system phase diagrams were used to investigate the thermodynamic effects of nanoparticles on the membrane forming process. UV spectrophotometer transmittance decline curves of the casting solution system added different amounts of nanoparticles were measured in order to investigate the kinetic effects of nanoparticles in the membrane forming process. Results: The results show that nanoparticles have a very high specific surface area, which can make strong adsorption of PVDF polymer chain and reduce the cohesive energy of the polymer in the casting solution. The membrane forming system is more prone to phase separation, thereby reducing the sedimentation values of the phase separation point. The casting solution system becomes unstable thermodynamically. The decreasing trend casting solution system and precipitation values is obvious in the range of 1% to 3% nanoparticles content and this trend weakens when nanoparticles content is 4%. Nanoparticles can decrease the ability of non-solvent to accommodate in the casting solution and make membrane form in smaller non-solvent concentration. The hydrophilic nanoparticles in the casting solution can affect mass transfer resistance of the solvent and non-solvent and augment mass transfer driving force for mutual diffusion of the solvent and non-solvent thus shortening the membrane forming time from the casting solution being immersed in the gelation bath for membrane formation. In the system with PVP as pore-forming agent, the process takes about 800s without nanoparticles addition and about 600s to complete the process after adding the nanoparticles. Conclusion: The addition of nanoparticles reduces the cohesive energy of the polymer in the casting solution, the casting solution becomes unstable in thermodynamics; The addition of nanoparticles increases the mass transfer force by bidirectional diffusion of solvent and non-solvent in the casting solution.

Synthesis of least defect NaY membranes: Defining optimum heating and cooling rate of hydrothermal treatment (HT) and application of zeta potential measurement via different seeding methods

Zeolite membrane is one type of microporous inorganic membrane which has gained so much interests among researchers as an alternative especially for gas separation. Among major challenges to produce high quality zeolite membranes with less defects are to have a good seeding and hydrothermal treatment (HT) method. On this matter, a study on the colloidal stability of the zeolite NaY seeds in the seeds solution in order to obtain homogenous seeds layer on top of the alumina support via several seeding methods and pHs of the seeds solutions were investigated. Then, the seeded samples were taken into HT process in order to form zeolite NaY membranes. During this stage, heating and cooling rates ( o C/hr) were varied in order to study their effects towards formation of zeolite membrane with least defects. Characterizations were performed by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) in order to identify degree of crystallization and amount of impurities while Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used in order to study surface morphology of the samples. From this study, it was found that densification effect from different seeding methods played important factor in forming zeolite membranes with least defects. Accordingly, suitable heating and cooling rates were required in order to optimize the growths of zeolite NaY seeds to form zeolite layer on top of the alumina support. In this case, due to thermal mismatch between the substrate and zeolite material, it could form some cracks on top of the alumina support. Thus, by implementing optimum heating/cooling rate, a zeolite NaY membrane with least amount of defects i.e. cracks and pinholes could be achieved with less degree of impurities i.e. zeolite NaP during HT process.

Dimensioning of ideal membrane cascade systems for the separation of binary gas mixtures for nuclear fusion applications

In the DEMO reactor highly efficient separation systems are required for the recovery of tritiated species to ensure a continuous re-fuelling of the plasma. For some of these systems, porous inorganic membranes have been proposed due to their promising modularity and cost-effectiveness for gas separation. For instance, zeolite membranes have been considered for the pre-concentration of Q2 in He (Q = H, D, T) in the European helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) to decrease the dimensions and costs of Pd/Ag membranes implemented downstream. Due to the similar sizes and masses of Q2 and He, the separation is limited with one membrane, hence a membrane cascade is required to achieve the desired performance requirements. In this paper, a numerical model is presented, which was developed to calculate the number of stages, surface area and power consumption of a membrane cascade using as input parameters the selectivity of the membrane α, permeances Π, pressures-ratio γ and the target separation requirements, the enrichment factor E and recovery fraction R. A sensitivity study was conducted to evaluate the impact of these parameters on the dimensioning of the membrane cascade.The pre-concentration of H2 in He using the zeolite membrane cascade with αH2/He=2 was first used as reference scenario for an inlet flow of Ffinj=8.06×103m3h−1 with E≥20 and R≥90%. The resulting membrane cascade consists of 16 stages, with 2563 m2 and 33.8 MW. For an improved selectivity of α = 10, the membrane cascade would have only 6 stages, with 260 m2 and 6 MW. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the cost-effectiveness and technological relevance of a membrane cascade are highly dependent on α, E and R.

Flexible, mesoporous, and monodispersed metallic cobalt-embedded inorganic nanofibrous membranes enable ultra-fast and high-efficiency killing of bacteria

Severe emerging infectious diseases, deriving from the contamination of pathogenic bacteria, are threatening human’s survival and development. Metal-embedded inorganic porous material with large mesopores and high flexibility, has proven to be one of the most promising activators of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for the high-efficiency pathogenic bacteria elimination. However, there still exists huge challenges to develop such materials. Herein, a robust strategy was reported to create flexible metallic cobalt (Co)-embedded inorganic nanofibrous membranes (CINMs) with interconnected mesoporous structures and monodispersed Co nanoparticles, for the first time, by double-template electrospinning approach and in situ carbonization reduction method. The monodispersed Co particles throughout fibers could activate PMS to effectively produce ROS, enabling the complete bacterial inactivation with a 7 log reduction within only 3 min. Benefitting from the integrated features of high porosity, robust mechanical property, and rapid ROS production, the obtained CINMs exhibit an ultra-high bactericidal efficiency of 99.99999% and a high permeate flux of 3.4 × 104 L m−2 h−1 merely driven by gravity (≈1.2 kPa). Moreover, a novel CINMs/PMS-based spray type sterilizer was successfully created for the convenient and high-efficiency sterilization of solid surfaces, which could completely inactivate bacteria on the surfaces after being sprayed for 10 s. The successful synthesis of such fascinating materials may shed light on designing new types of inorganic nanofiber-based antimicrobials for various public health and environment protection.

Surface-modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membranes for pervaporation dehydration of epichlorohydrin (ECH), isopropanol (IPA), and water ternary feed mixtures

Conventional distillation failed to separate a ternary azeotropic mixture of ECH, IPA and water (50/30/20w/w, %) exist in the epoxy resin manufacturing process. Thus, we prepared a PVA-tetraethyl orthosilicate organic–inorganic hybrid membrane and modified the membrane by layer-by-layer deposition of a PVAm/silicotungstic acid polyelectrolyte for the pervaporation (PV) dehydration of ECH/IPA/water mixtures. In PV experiments at 30°C, the flux decreased from 0.14 to 0.05kg m−2h−1 and separation factor increased from and 2099 to 13,320 with TEOS addition in the PVA membrane was observed. And for the layer by layer deposition on PVA-TEOS (4) membranes flux increased and separation factor decreased from 0.14 to 0.28kgm−2h−1 and 2099 to 416 with the number of layer of deposition were observed respectively. On varying the feed water content from 20 to 10wt. %, the pervaporation flux at 30°C decreased from 0.22 to 0.0066kgm−2h−1 and the separation factor increased from 1061 to 9094 was observed. By applying the Arrhenius equation, permeation activation energies of ECH and IPA (97.42 and 111.96kJmol-1, respectively) are higher than that of water (40.88kJmol−1) were reported for the layer by layer membrane.

Perovskite oxide based composite hollow fiber membrane for CO2 transport

Membrane technologies have been widely investigated for CO2 separation, especially inorganic membranes which could overcome the barrier of low melting point, and then been applied for combustion activities. Compared with molecular sieving membranes (MSMs), the mechanism during CO2 separation process on electrolyte membranes (EMs) is more complicated. Mixed ionic and electronic conductors, such as perovskite oxides, has been proved with superior activity than oxygen ion conductors because of the additional surface reaction path. To further demonstrate the applicability of perovskite oxides contained membrane for CO2 separation, in this work, CO2 transport via La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ and carbonates composite membrane with hollow fiber microstructure was thoroughly investigated under various gas flow directions. This membrane presents the best permeability when CO2+N2 (feed gas) flows at shell side and He (sweep gas) flows at tube side in parallel model. In addition, it also presents excellent thermal shock resistance after six times rising and cooling operation with almost no performance degradation.

Vapor Phase Infiltration of Metal Oxides into Nanoporous Polymer Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation

Membrane-based organic solvent separations promise a low-energy alternative to traditional thermal separations but require advanced materials that operate reliably in chemically aggressive environments. While inorganic membranes can withstand demanding conditions, they are costly and difficult to scale. Polymeric membranes, such as polymers of intrinsic microporosity, are easily manufactured into form factors consistent with large-scale separations (e.g., hollow fibers), but perform poorly in aggressive solvents. Here, a new post-fabrication membrane modification technique, vapor phase infiltration (VPI) is reported that infuses polymer of intrinsic microporosity 1 (PIM-1) with inorganic constituents to improve stability while generally maintaining the polymer’s macroscale form factor and microporous internal structure (Figure 1). The atomic-scale metal oxide networks within these hybrid membranes protect PIM-1 from swelling or dissolving in organic solvents including: tetrahydrofuran, dichloromethane, and chloroform (Figure 2a). This atomic-scale metal oxide network further decreases the molecular weight cutoff (MWCO; the smallest molecular weight the membrane “successfully” rejects) in n-heptane and toluene from a MWCO of about 600 g/mol for pristine PIM-1 thin film composite membranes to 204 g/mol for hybrid AlOx/PIM-1 membranes (Figure 2b). The hybrid membranes further retain this MWCO and high levels of rejection (>95%) in solvents that traditionally swell or even dissolve pristine PIM-1 (such as ethanol and tetrahydrofuran). The decrease in MWCO and increase in stability of AlOx/PIM-1 hybrid membranes allows them to perform separations not only between solutes and solvents, but also separations of more challenging systems such as those comprising multiple solvents. For example, the hybrid AlOx/PIM-1 membranes are capable of enriching the toluene concentration in a mixture of 90 wt% toluene, 5 wt% 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, and 5 wt% 1,3-diisopropylbenzene from 90.0 wt% to 97.8 ± 0.3 wt%. In this talk, we will discuss the chemical mechanisms of the infiltration process that we believe create the hybrid structures necessary to support this enhanced stability and separation performance. Figure 1

High‐temperature CO2 removal from CH4 using silica membrane: experimental and neural network modeling

AbstractInorganic membranes can operate under harsh conditions. However, successful synthesis of inorganic membranes is still challenging, and its performance depends on many factors. This work reports the effect of dip‐coating duration, inlet pressure, and inlet flow rate on the flux, permeability, and selectivity of silica membranes. A silica membrane was prepared by the deposition of silica sol onto porous alumina support. The permeability test was conducted at 100 °C using a single gas of CO2 and CH4. The highest flux was observed at the maximum inlet pressure and inlet flow rate for the membrane prepared at the minimum dip‐coating duration. The neural network modeling of the membrane predicted permeabilities showed a considerably high validity regression (R ≈ 0.99) of the predicted data linked to the experimental sets. The separation factor (α) was the highest at the maximum dip‐coating duration. The synthesized silica membrane has potential for CO2/CH4 separation under harsh operating conditions. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by novel Pt/Al2O3 membranes via a nonradical mechanism for efficient degradation of electron-rich aromatic pollutants

Novel flexible Pt/Al2O3 membranes were prepared and applied as catalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants in the presence of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). 100% of bisphenol A (BPA) could be removed within 20 min by using fresh Pt/Al2O3-membrane-activated PMS, which represents outstanding performance compared to catalysts reported in recent years. The influence of the PMS dosage, initial BPA concentration, and initial pH on BPA degradation were studied. The mechanism of BPA degradation in this system was investigated in depth. The BPA degradation process was not inhibited by the addition of radical scavengers to the system, and no free radicals were detected using ESR analysis. Additionally, the PMS molecules were only decomposed in the presence of both the catalysts and BPA. The results also demonstrated that only electron-rich aromatics could be degraded by this system. Furthermore, in contrast to typical degradation pathways involving the generation of free radicals, no intermediates formed via OH addition reaction were detected. Based on these findings, a nonradical pathway was suggested rather than a conventional OH/SO4− radical-based advanced oxidation process (AOP) mechanism. BPA is efficiently degraded by the transfer of electrons from its π-π aromatic ring to PMS via the noble metal Pt as transfer medium in this reaction. The findings in this work broaden the understanding of the use of activated PMS for the degradation of organic pollutants, and extend the application of flexible inorganic membranes in wastewater treatment.

Recent Progresses in Application of Membrane Bioreactors in Production of Biohydrogen.

Biohydrogen is a clean and viable energy carrier generated through various green and renewable energy sources such as biomass. This review focused on the application of membrane bioreactors (MBRs), emphasizing the combination of these devices with biological processes, for bio-derived hydrogen production. Direct biophotolysis, indirect biophotolysis, photo-fermentation, dark fermentation, and conventional techniques are discussed as the common methods of biohydrogen production. The anaerobic process membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) technology is presented and discussed as a preferable choice for producing biohydrogen due to its low cost and the ability of overcoming problems posed by carbon emissions. General features of AnMBRs and operational parameters are comprehensively overviewed. Although MBRs are being used as a well-established and mature technology with many full-scale plants around the world, membrane fouling still remains a serious obstacle and a future challenge. Therefore, this review highlights the main benefits and drawbacks of MBRs application, also discussing the comparison between organic and inorganic membranes utilization to determine which may constitute the best solution for providing pure hydrogen. Nevertheless, research is still needed to overcome remaining barriers to practical applications such as low yields and production rates, and to identify biohydrogen as one of the most appealing renewable energies in the future.