The Advancement in Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Technology toward Sustainable Industrial Wastewater Management
Tanzim Ur Rahman,
Hridoy Roy,
Md. Reazul Islam,
Mohammed Tahmid,
Athkia Fariha,
Antara Mazumder,
Nishat Tasnim,
Md. Nahid Pervez,
Yingjie Cai,
Vincenzo Naddeo,
Md. Shahinoor Islam
Affiliations
Tanzim Ur Rahman
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Hridoy Roy
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Md. Reazul Islam
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Mohammed Tahmid
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Athkia Fariha
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Antara Mazumder
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Nishat Tasnim
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Md. Nahid Pervez
Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
Yingjie Cai
Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Clean Production and High Value Utilization of Bio-Based Textile Materials, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China
Vincenzo Naddeo
Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
Md. Shahinoor Islam
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
The advancement in water treatment technology has revolutionized the progress of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology in the modern era. The large space requirement, low efficiency, and high cost of the traditional activated sludge process have given the necessary space for the MBR system to come into action. The conventional activated sludge (CAS) process and tertiary filtration can be replaced by immersed and side-stream MBR. This article outlines the historical advancement of the MBR process in the treatment of industrial and municipal wastewaters. The structural features and design parameters of MBR, e.g., membrane surface properties, permeate flux, retention time, pH, alkalinity, temperature, cleaning frequency, etc., highly influence the efficiency of the MBR process. The submerged MBR can handle lower permeate flux (requires less power), whereas the side-stream MBR can handle higher permeate flux (requires more power). However, MBR has some operational issues with conventional water treatment technologies. The quality of sludge, equipment requirements, and fouling are major drawbacks of the MBR process. This review paper also deals with the approach to address these constraints. However, given the energy limitations, climatic changes, and resource depletion, conventional wastewater treatment systems face significant obstacles. When compared with CAS, MBR has better permeate quality, simpler operational management, and a reduced footprint requirement. Thus, for sustainable water treatment, MBR can be an efficient tool.
