Immersed membrane bioreactors: An overview with special emphasis on anaerobic bioprocesses

Immersed membrane bioreactor (IMBR) has emerged as a novel potential technology which is considered globally as potent technology, primarily for wastewater treatment. It offers quality improvement in effluents treatment compared to other technological systems. It also offers potential benefits for the bioprocesses where product formation and separation is desired simultaneously in a compact container. This review gives insight for the wide range applications of IMBR focussing on anaerobiosis. It discusses the significance, advantages and drawbacks of IMBR against the conventional methods, highlighting the external membrane bioreactors. While the commercial significance of IMBR is obvious for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, the current focus is shifting on other applications such as anaerobic bioprocesses. Though the IMBR technology is generally considered hand-in-hand as sustainable technology, the major bottleneck in its application at commercial scale for wastewater treatment seems its economic feasibility and compatibility. Among the technical issues, the membrane fouling is considered as a major problem for which several strategies have been developed to overcome the problem, though there is no complete or universal solution to this problem.

► IMBR is already an established technology in aerobic treatment of wastewater.
► It could become a key technology for anaerobic bioprocesses.
► IMBR offers easier cleaning of membranes in comparison to external side stream systems.