Challenges in biogas production from anaerobic membrane bioreactors

•The challenges of different types of AnMBRs for biogas production are reviewed.•Advanced AnMBRs are emerging in producing good fuel quality biogas.•Various inhibitory compounds that affect biogas yield from AnMBRs are reviewed.•Operational conditions and suggestions for optimizing biogas yield are discussed.•Future opportunities of biogas production from AnMBRs are presented.

Spectacular applications of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are emerging due to the membrane enhanced biogas production in the form of renewable bioresources. They produce similar energy derived from the world's depleting natural fossil energy sources while minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During the last decade, many types of AnMBRs have been developed and applied so as to make biogas technology practical and economically viable. Referring to both conventional and advanced configurations, this review presents a comprehensive summary of AnMBRs for biogas production in recent years. The potential of biogas production from AnMBRs cannot be fully exploited, since certain constraints still remain and these cause low methane yield. This paper addresses a detailed assessment on the potential challenges that AnMBRs are encountering, with a major focus on many inhibitory substances and operational dilemmas. The aim is to provide a solid platform for advances in novel AnMBRs applications for optimized biogas production.