Removal of Organic Micro-Pollutants by Conventional Membrane Bioreactors and High-Retention Membrane Bioreactors

Abstract

The ubiquitous presence of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in the environment as a result of continuous discharge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) into water matrices—even at trace concentrations (ng/L)—is of great concern, both in the public and environmental health domains. This fact essentially warrants developing and implementing energy-efficient, economical, sustainable and easy to handle technologies to meet stringent legislative requirements. Membrane-based processes—both stand-alone or integration of membrane processes—are an attractive option for the removal of OMPs because of their high reliability compared with conventional process, least chemical consumption and smaller footprint. This review summarizes recent research (mainly 2015–present) on the application of conventional aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactors used for the removal of organic micropollutants (OMP) from wastewater. Integration and hybridization of membrane processes with other physicochemical processes are becoming promising options for OMP removal. Recent studies on high retention membrane bioreactors (HRMBRs) such as osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBRs) and membrane distillation bioreactors (MDBRs) are discussed. Future prospects of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and HRMBRs for improving OMP removal from wastewater are also proposed.

Chitosan-Grafted Halloysite Nanotubes-Fe3O4 Composite for Laccase-Immobilization and Sulfamethoxazole-Degradation

“…Enormous population growth has increased the industrial agricultural demands, resulting in increasing micro-pollutant concentrations in the environment. The increased concentration of micro-pollutants in the environment due to constant release, even at trace concentrations (ng/L), from wastewater-treatment plants into water bodies is of great environmental and public health concern [ 6 ]. Hence, in this study, the pharmaceutical compound and indicator of antibiotic pollution ‘sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was chosen as the target pollutant for immobilized-laccase-based bio-catalytical degradation.…”

The Role of Electrospun Nanomaterials in the Future of Energy and Environment

“…Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology in water reclamation and recycling is promising for saving large quantity of water from industrial and municipal wastewater that can be used for gardening, car washing, and cooling processes. Potential applications of this technology have also been evaluated for removing compounds of emerging concerns [ 222 , 223 ] and nutrient recovery as a substitute for nitrification/denitrification process [ 224 , 225 ].…”

“… System configurations of MBRs: ( a ) immersed MBR and ( b ) side-stream MBR. Reprinted from [ 223 ] under open access license. …”

“…Inclusion of particles or chemical carriers in biofilm membrane bioreactors (BF-MBR) reduces the transmembrane pressure (TMP) and fouling rate due to the attached biomass on biofilm carriers circulating in the aeration tank [229,230]. Higher effluent quality can be achieved using high retention membrane bioreactors (HRMBRs) where NF, FO, and MD membranes were combined with conventional MBRs because of the longer biodegradation time [223,231]. Electrospun membranes draw growing interest in water treatment bioreactors as well.…”

Cold atmospheric plasma technology for removal of organic micropollutants from wastewater—a review

“…According to several investigations, various OMPs such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, organic dyes have been frequently detected in the wastewater, surface water, and even in drinking water (see Fig. 1) [5,[8][9][10].…”