• This Month's Hot Topic: Membrane Biological Reactors
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  • Membrane Biological Reactors
  • We are looking for articles, case studies, reports and poster presentations between 1000 and 2000 words and covering the following aspects of the MBR technology:
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Membrane Biological Reactors

EditCombining membrane technology with biological reactors for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters has led to the development of three generic membrane biological reactors: for separation of solids, for bubble-less aeration of the bioreactor, and for extraction of priority organic pollutants from hostile industrial wastewaters. Biosolid separation membrane biological reactors, commonly known as the membrane bioreactors (MBR), however, have been the most widely studied and has found full-scale applications in many countries. In recent years the MBR market has experienced unprecedented growth. Driven by increasing freshwater scarcity and the corresponding drive to reuse wastewater, the future of MBRs as a technology providing high quality product water appears assured.

MBR was originally developed in the late 1980’s by the group of Professor Kazuo Yamamoto [1]. MBRs combine biodegradation and membrane filtration in a single-step, compact process yielding suspended solids and macro-colloidal materials free, disinfected and almost fully nitrified permeate of high enough quality to be discharged to sensitive receiving bodies or to be reclaimed for applications such as urban irrigation, utilities or toilet flushing [2,3]. Other advantages of MBRs over conventional processes include easy retrofit, upgrade of old wastewater treatment plants and compatibility with advanced treatments such as reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation processes to produce water for indirect potable reuse [4]. The global MBR market was worth $838.2 million in 2011 and is expected to witness positive growth and revenue sales through 2018 [5]. The stringent environmental regulations, the scarcity of available water combined with the economy of space and ease of automation that MBRs provide are driving the growth in its demand, usage, and range of applications [6]. Notwithstanding this, higher capital and operating costs (energy demand), and relative process complexity and reliability, requiring trained workers, generally impede the more widespread adoption of the technology as the preferred process over competing technologies for municipal wastewater treatment. Operationally, membrane fouling and clogging is considered the Achilles’ heel of the MBR technology. Further development is required to meet the emerging quality requirements such as removal of trace organic contaminants [7]. However, a combination of technical advances and the unavoidable increase in the demand for ever higher treated water quality is believed to sustain the growth of the MBR market.

We are looking for articles, case studies, reports and poster presentations between 1000 and 2000 words and covering the following aspects of the MBR technology:

Edit

• Overall research and development challenges
• Role of MBRs in water reclamation and reuse
• Environmental and economic profiles
• New generation membranes and novel MBR designs

How to Submit:

Click here to upload your article, report or case study. When you have uploaded your material to this area, tag with the 'Hot Topic' article tag.
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Click here to upload your poster presentation to Events Extra, including 'Hot Topic_MBR' in the event name.

Keywords: Water recycling, micropollutants, trace organics, biological reactor, commercial application, cost, energy consumption, fouling, flat sheet, hollow fiber, membrane, life cycle assessment

Related Publications from IWA Publishing

1. Potable Water Solutions
2. Membrane Biological Reactors
3. Nanotechnology for Water and Wastewater Treatment
4. Applications of Activated Sludge Models
5. Tuning Biological Nutrient Removal Plants
6. Water Practice and Technology
7. Water Science and Technology
8. MBR Book, 2nd Edition
9. Operating Large Scale Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Related WaterWiki Articles

1. Enhanced biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal within a field-scale membrane bioreactor by adding pre-treated sludge and alum
2. Membrane Technology for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater
3. Preparation of a patterned flat membrane and its anti-biofouling effect in MBR
4. Membrane fouling and organic removal in a two- stage anaerobic baffled reactor/anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor system
5. Influence of space clearance between flat-sheet membranes on fouling in submerged membrane bioreactors
6. Sludge water characteristics from membrane bioreactor (MBR) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes
7. Fouling characteristics of ceramic membrane used in a side-stream MBR
8. Role of solid retention time in the determination of specific cake resistance for a membrane bioreactor system

References

Edit[1] Yamamoto, K., M. Hiasa, et al. (1989). "Direct solid-liquid separation using hollow fiber membrane in an activated sludge aeration tank." Water Science and Technology 21(4-5 -5 pt 1): 43-54.

[2] Judd, S. (2008). "The status of membrane bioreactor technology." Trends in Biotechnology 26(2): 109-116.

[3] Hai, F. I. and K. Yamamoto (2011). Membrane Biological Reactors. Treatise on Water Science. Editor-in-Chief: Wilderer, P. Oxford, Elsevier: 571-613.

[4] Qin, J.-J., K. A. Kekre, et al. (2006). "New option of MBR-RO process for production of NEWater from domestic sewage." Journal of Membrane Science 272(1–2): 70-77.

[5] Frost & Sullivan (2013). Global Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Market.

[6] Markets and Markets (2012). Membrane Bioreactor Systems Market - by Types, Configuration & Applications – Trends & Forecasts to 2017.

[7] Tadkaew, N., F. I. Hai, et al. (2011). "Removal of trace organics by MBR treatment: The role of molecular properties." Water Research 45(8): 2439-2451