Membrane bioreactors for the production of value-added products: Recent developments, challenges and perspectives

Akkoyunlu, Burcu; Daly, Sorcha; Casey, Eoin

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125793

Cited by 33 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…This review is motivated by the progress that was made in the research and applications of AnMBRs in recent years. It is worth noting that several review articles on the MBR technology have recently been published [39,45,[58][59][60][61][62]. Nevertheless, to the best of the authors knowledge, the present paper is the first to gain detailed insight into the status of AnMBRs as the energy-efficient technology for the treatment of municipal and domestic wastewaters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The followin In wastewaters treatment, aerobic membrane bioreactors (AeMBRs) and anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are used. However, AnMBRs are dominant in largescale use [39], which is due to the fact that AeMBRs have higher energy requirements, as they involve the aeration costs [40][41][42]. For instance, in [43] it was noted that for immersed AeMBRs, approximately 30-50% of the energy demand arises from aeration of the membrane, whilst AnMBRs are increasingly popular for producing biogas which can be used to fulfil process energy requirements [7,[44][45][46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy-Efficient AnMBRs Technology for Treatment of Wastewaters: A Review

Tomczak

Gryta

2022

Energies

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In recent years, anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBRs) technology, a combination of a biological reactor and a selective membrane process, has received increasing attention from both industrialists and researchers. Undoubtedly, this is due to the fact that AnMBRs demonstrate several unique advantages. Firstly, this paper addresses fundamentals of the AnMBRs technology and subsequently provides an overview of the current state-of-the art in the municipal and domestic wastewaters treatment by AnMBRs. Since the operating conditions play a key role in further AnMBRs development, the impact of temperature and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the AnMBRs performance in terms of organic matters removal is presented in detail. Although membrane technologies for wastewaters treatment are known as costly in operation, it was clearly demonstrated that the energy demand of AnMBRs may be lower than that of typical wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Moreover, it was indicated that AnMBRs have the potential to be a net energy producer. Consequently, this work builds on a growing body of evidence linking wastewaters treatment with the energy-efficient AnMBRs technology. Finally, the challenges and perspectives related to the full-scale implementation of AnMBRs are highlighted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy-Efficient AnMBRs Technology for Treatment of Wastewaters: A Review

Tomczak

Gryta

2022

Energies

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“…In the past years, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) have been widely applied in wastewater treatment due to the high quality of the effluent they generate and their low footprint [ 1 ]. In the framework of wastewater treatment intensification and the circular economy model, MBRs could play a crucial role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Membrane Fouling Mitigation in MBR via the Feast–Famine Strategy to Enhance PHA Production by Activated Sludge

et al. 2022

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Fouling is considered one of the main drawbacks of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. Among the main fouling agents, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are considered one of the most impactful since they cause the decrease of sludge filterability and decline of membrane flux in the long term. The present study investigated a biological strategy to reduce the membrane-fouling tendency in MBR systems. This consisted of seeding the reactor with activated sludge enriched in microorganisms with polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) storage ability and by imposing proper operating conditions to drive the carbon toward intracellular (PHA) rather than extracellular (EPS) accumulation. For that purpose, an MBR lab-scale plant was operated for 175 days, divided into four periods (1–4) according to different food to microorganisms’ ratios (F/M) (0.80 kg COD kg TSS−1 d−1 (Period 1), 0.13 kg COD kg TSS−1 d−1 (Period 2), 0.28 kg COD kg TSS−1 d−1 (Period 3), and 0.38 kg COD kg TSS−1 d−1 (Period 4)). The application of the feast/famine strategy favored the accumulation of intracellular polymers by bacteria. The increase of the PHA accumulation inside the cells corresponded to the decrease of EPS and an F/M of 0.40–0.50 kg COD kg TSS−1 d−1 was found as optimum to maximize the PHA production, while minimizing EPS. The lowest EPS content in the sludge (18% of total suspended solids) that corresponded to the maximum content of PHA (9.3%) was found in Period 4 and determined significant mitigation of the fouling rate, whose value was close to 0.10 × 1011 m−1 h−1. Thus, by imposing proper operating conditions, it was possible to drive the organic matter toward PHA accumulation. Moreover, a lower EPS content corresponded to a decrease in the irreversible fouling mechanism, which would imply a lower frequency of the extraordinary cleaning operations. This study highlighted the possibility of obtaining a double benefit by applying an MBR system in the frame of wastewater valorization: minimizing the fouling tendency of the membrane and recovery precursors of bioplastics from wastewater in line with the circular economy model.

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“…Indeed, it has been reported that the MBRs global market should increase from USD 1.9 billion in 2018 to USD 3.8 billion by 2023 [7]. The well-established applications of MBRs are due to the fact that they offer plentiful benefits, for instance excellent quality of effluent, complete biomass retention, successful bioconversions, improvements of the products yields and productivity as well as low-energy requirements and a low footprint [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, they allow the fermentation broth (substrate and products) to permeate through the membrane pores, and in consequence, separate it from the biomass, leading to the recycling of cells into the bioreactor. Therefore, UF membranes allow us to eliminate the inhibitory effects of the product and improve the process yield [10]. Conducting a comprehensive literature review (Table A1) indicated that UF membranes are extensively being used in MBRs applied for biological conversions to produce many valuable products, such as lactic acid [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], biohydrogen [23][24][25][26][27], biogas [28][29][30], fructose and gluconic acid [31][32][33], propionic acid [34][35][36], ethanol [37,38], succinic acid [39,40], butyric acid [41] and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) [42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of NaOH Solutions for Fouling Control in a Membrane Bioreactor: A Feasibility Study

2021

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Nowadays, the microbial production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) is recognized as preferable to the chemical synthesis. However, finding a technological approach allowing the production of 1,3-PD in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a great challenge. In the present study, a ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) membrane (8 kDa) for treatment of 1,3-PD broths was used. It has been demonstrated that the membrane used provides the stable permeate flux that is necessary to ensure the stability of the fermentation process in MBR technology. It was noticed that the broth pH has a significant impact on both the final 1,3-PD concentration and permeate flux. Moreover, the feasibility of using NaOH for fouling control in the MBR was evaluated. It has been shown that 1% NaOH solution is effective in restoring the initial membrane performance. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to shed light onto the possibility of reducing the amount of the alkaline solutions generated during the MBR operation. Indeed, it has been found that 1% NaOH solution can be successfully used several times for both membrane cleaning and to stabilize the broth pH. Finally, based on the results obtained, the technological conceptions of the MBR technology were designed.

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Membrane bioreactors for the production of value-added products: Recent developments, challenges and perspectives

Cited by 33 publications

References 89 publications

Energy-Efficient AnMBRs Technology for Treatment of Wastewaters: A Review

Energy-Efficient AnMBRs Technology for Treatment of Wastewaters: A Review

Membrane Fouling Mitigation in MBR via the Feast–Famine Strategy to Enhance PHA Production by Activated Sludge

The Use of NaOH Solutions for Fouling Control in a Membrane Bioreactor: A Feasibility Study

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