ABSTRACT
Through the combination of biological processes with membranes, it is possible to achieve better performance, in comparison to the standalone biological processes or membrane processes. This combination could be used for both aerobic and anaerobic biological treatment processes. In the aerobic processes, it provides high pollutant removal, while in the anaerobic processes, it provides energy recovery in addition to the pollutant removal performance. This review provides a description on the development of membrane processes coupled with biological processes from membrane bioreactors (MBR) to membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABR) and to anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Current research trends in MBR, MABR, and AnMBR systems have been summarized. In addition to that, the future challenges associated with all of these technologies and the sustainability of the three processes have been discussed in detail.
