Abstract
-
Anaerobic MBRs (AnMBRs) have been shown to be one of the most promising technologies for
sustainable wastewater treatment. It offers several advantages over the aerobic MBRs, namely,
requirement of no energy for aeration, low sludge production and energy resource. Compared to the
conventional anaerobic processes, AnMBRs can maintain higher biomass concentrations, have higher
treatment capacity, excellent effluent quality, and smaller footprint. Compared with the conventional
anaerobic digestion, they are relatively robust to cope with variations in organic loading and
inhibitory conditions due to complete retention of biomass by membranes. The AnMBR technology
is now gaining acceptance by a wide range of industries. The achievements of AnMBRs in pilotscale
studies and full-scale applications are surveyed in this chapter. Lab- and pilot-scale studies
provide important information to scale up AnMBRs and upgrade the existing anaerobic process into
full-scale AnMBR systems. However, membrane fouling is still the major issue limiting its
popularity and development in commercialization. The factors affecting the treatment performance
and membrane fouling are reviewed along with an in depth discussion of fouling mechanisms,
characteristics and control strategies. Moreover, an overview of its commercial potential in water
reuse, energy production, and costs of AnMBRs in wastewater treatments is covered. The
combination of AnMBRs and other effluent polishing treatments is desirable for the purpose of water
reuse. Meanwhile, it is appealing to take advantage of the biogas produced as an energy resource.
The lower total cost of AnMBR than that of aerobic MBRs shows its economic feasibility. Finally,
the research needs for future developments are summarized based on the state-of-the-art of
AnMBR technology.