Journal of Membrane Science & Technology

An Overview of Deploying Membrane Bioreactors in Wastewater Treatment

Marina Paola^* Department of Biological Membrane, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
^*Correspondence: Marina Paola, Department of Biological Membrane, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, Email:

Received: 01-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. JMST-22-19279; Editor assigned: 03-Nov-2022, Pre QC No. JMST-22-19279 (PQ); Reviewed: 18-Nov-2022, QC No. JMST-22-19279; Revised: 25-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. JMST-22-19279 (R); Published: 05-Dec-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2155-9589.22.12.309

Description

Synthetic Membrane Bioreactor’s (MBR’s) combine Membrane Filtration (MF) such as microfiltration or ultrafiltration with a biological wastewater treatment method is known as activated sludge. It is widely used for the treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater. There are two types of Membrane Bioreactor’s (MBR’s): (1) Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (SMBR) and (2) side stream membrane bioreactor. In the first configuration, the membrane is dissolved in wastewater inside the biological reactor. The membrane is located outside the reactor in the final configuration as an additional factor after biological treatment.

Scarcity of water necessarily requires the reuse of treated wastewater, thereby ensuring environmental protection. Some of the wastewater treatment technologies provided, those employing membranes remain out for their ability to retain solids and salts as well as disinfect water, producing liquid suitable for reuse in irrigation and other applications. A membrane is a material that allows certain substances to flow through it selectively. The main objective of water purification or regeneration is for water to flow through the membrane while retaining undesirable particles on the other side. Contaminant retention can be improved depending on the type of membrane used. The membrane can be constructed from a wide range of materials. However, in the field of wastewater treatment, due to several operating parameters, the number of materials required to build a membrane differs from it though utilized in other fields.

Chemical and mechanical resistance for five years of operation, highly acidic or basic properties, or adaptability to operate in a wide pH ranges are some of the required characteristics in a membrane for wastewater treatment. Mostly on industry, there are two types of membrane materials: Organic-based polymeric membranes and ceramic membranes. Polymeric membranes are the most commonly used material in the treatment of water and wastewater. Due to its long lifetime and chemical and mechanical resistance, Polyvinylidene difluoride is one of the prevalent.

There are two MBR configurations: Internal, in which the membranes are immersed in and integral to the biological reactor, and external, in which the membranes are a separate unit technique that requires an intermediate pumping procedure. Recent advancements in technology and significant membrane efficiency improvements have enabled MBR’s to develop into a well-established wastewater treatment process. As a result, the MBR process has become a popular choice for the treatment and reuse of industrial and municipal wastewater, as illustrated by their increasing number system and ability. By removing some of the liquid components of the mixed liquor, membrane bioreactors can be used to reduce the carbon foot print of an activated sludge sewage treatment system. This provides a concentrated waste product, which is considered with activated sludge. Recent studies have found that nano-materials can be used to create more efficient and sustainable membrane bioreactors (Nano-Materials Membrane Bioreactor - NMs-MBR) for wastewater treatment.

When commercial-scale Ultra-Filtration (UF) and Micro- Filtration (MF) membranes became accessible in the 1960s, the MBR method was developed. The synthetic polymer single layer membranes used in this process had pore sizes ranging from 0.003 to 0.01 m. Although the concept of replacing the water type in the conventional activated sludge process was attractive, the use of this process was difficult to defend due to the high cost of membranes, the low economic significance of the product (tertiary effluent), and the potential for rapid performance degradation due to membrane fouling.