Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Nonpotable Water Reuse and Energy Recovery

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) have received significant attention in the field of wastewater treatment due to their lower energy demand than traditional aerobic MBRs. AnMBRs have been successfully adopted for nonpotable reuse applications. However, water-quality challenges (∼4–170 mg/L chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the permeate, literature value), membrane fouling, energy consumption (0.1–2.6 kWh/m3, literature value), and methane recovery from the permeate are challenges that still need to be overcome if AnMBRs are to be recognized as a sustainable wastewater reuse technology. This paper reviews state-of-the-art conventional AnMBRs, decentralized AnMBRs, and hybrid AnMBRs in the context of treating different types of wastewater for nonpotable water reuse and energy recovery. Comparisons of permeate quality and energy consumptions in different hybrid AnMBRs are performed, and the challenges of AnMBRs for nonpotable water reuse are discussed.