Membrane Bioreactors: Design, Operation, and Maintenance

Population explosion, urbanization, and industrialization are the responsible factors for the huge wastewater generation. Globally, around 380 billion m3 of wastewater is generated annually and in India, about 35% of the population lives in the urban area and generates around 72 million litres per day. Out of the total generated wastewater, only 28% is treated and the rest is discharged untreated which results in the deterioration of the freshwater resources and also impacts different components of the environment. Wastewater treatment is vital for the protection of the environment and human health, and therefore United Nations emphasized it under sustainable development goals (SDGs). The treated water can be a useful resource if used for secondary applications and offers resource and financial savings. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a reliable, robust, and flexible technology in the area of wastewater treatment, and through its application, SDGs can be achieved. In MBR technology, hyphenation of activated sludge process and membrane filtration is practiced for the treatment of organic-laden wastewater. MBR technology has frequently been used to treat industrial and municipal wastewater, where a small footprint, stringent discharge standards, or water reuse is essential. The MBR technology outcompetes with conventional wastewater treatment approach but still has some drawbacks such as fouling of membranes which surges operational costs. The drawbacks can be overcome through MBR designing and membrane selections. In this study, we cover the different MBR designs, membrane types, and operations for wastewater treatment. The recent development in the research area of MBR is reported in this chapter.