Removal of carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole by MBR under anoxic and aerobic conditions

► Anoxic regime enhances removal of the persistent micropollutant carbamazepine. ► Batch tests confirmed carbamazepine degradation only under anoxic environment. ► Carbamazepine removal by MBR treatment under anoxic conditions was 68%. ► Carbamazepine removal by MBR treatment under aerobic conditions was less than 20%. ► Sulfamethoxazole was amenable to both aerobic and anoxic biotransformation.