Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment, Sewage Sludge Digestion and Biogas Upgrading: A Review

Yemei Li, Yuanyuan Ren, Jiayuan Ji, Yu-You Li and Takuro Kobayashi ()
Additional contact information
Yemei Li: Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Yuanyuan Ren: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aoba, Aramaki-Aza, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
Jiayuan Ji: Institute of Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
Yu-You Li: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aoba, Aramaki-Aza, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
Takuro Kobayashi: Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are formed through the combination of anaerobic digestion and membrane technology. The upgraded technology separates SRT from HRT in the anaerobic digester, shortening the treatment period, reducing the digester’s volume and improving effluent quality. Furthermore, AnMBRs have a strong tolerance for the existing forms of objects and can handle liquids, high-solid materials and gases. Up to now, AnMBRs have been utilized in the treatment of various types of industrial and municipal wastewater, organic solid waste and also biogas upgrading, and they have achieved excellent performance. However, there are few studies which have discussed their multiple utilization, especially following the flow of wastewater treatment. This study summarizes the application of AnMBRs in their diverse roles in the municipal wastewater treatment process. The discussion revolves around energy generation and the fouling issue of AnMBRs in the treatment of municipal wastewater, the digestion of sewage sludge generated in conventional municipal wastewater treatment and the upgrading of biogas after anaerobic digestion. In addition to controlling operating parameters, strategies used to improve the treatment effectiveness are also introduced. Lastly, online methods for preventing membrane fouling, which is the main operational obstacle to AnMBRs’ wider spread, are also discussed. This review aims to provide a fresh perspective on how AnMBRs are utilized in waste treatment.

Keywords: AnMBR; wastewater treatment; sludge treatment; biogas upgrading; membrane fouling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/15129/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/15129/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:15129-:d:1264695

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().