Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 177 EWRE Building, 1351 Beal Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA E-mail:
Water Sci Technol. 2021 Nov;84(9):2131-2157. doi: 10.2166/wst.2021.443.
The membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), which is based on the counter diffusion of the electron donors and acceptors into the biofilm, represents a novel technology for wastewater treatment. When process air or oxygen is supplied, the MBfR is known as the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), which has high oxygen transfer rate and efficiency, promoting microbial growth and activity within the biofilm. Over the past few decades, laboratory-scale studies have helped researchers and practitioners understand the relevance of influencing factors and biological transformations in MABRs. In recent years, pilot- to full-scale installations are increasing along with process modeling. The resulting accumulated knowledge has greatly improved understanding of the counter-diffusional biological process, with new challenges and opportunities arising. Therefore, it is crucial to provide new insights by conducting this review. This paper reviews wastewater treatment advancements using MABR technology, including design and operational considerations, microbial community ecology, and process modeling. Treatment performance of pilot- to full-scale MABRs for process intensification in existing facilities is assessed. This paper also reviews other emerging applications of MABRs, including sulfur recovery, industrial wastewater, and xenobiotics bioremediation, space-based wastewater treatment, and autotrophic nitrogen removal. In conclusion, commercial applications demonstrate that MABR technology is beneficial for pollutants (COD, N, P, xenobiotics) removal, resource recovery (e.g., sulfur), and NO mitigation. Further research is needed to increase packing density while retaining efficient external mass transfer, understand the microbial interactions occurring, address existing assumptions to improve process modeling and control, and optimize the operational conditions with site-specific considerations.
基于电子供体和受体向生物膜内反向扩散的膜生物膜反应器 (MBfR) 代表了一种用于废水处理的新型技术。当供应工艺空气或氧气时，MBfR 被称为膜曝气生物膜反应器 (MABR)，它具有高氧气传递率和效率，促进生物膜内微生物的生长和活性。在过去几十年中，实验室规模的研究帮助研究人员和从业者了解了 MABR 中影响因素和生物转化的相关性。近年来，随着工艺建模的发展，从试点到全规模的安装正在增加。由此积累的知识极大地提高了对反扩散生物过程的理解，同时也带来了新的挑战和机遇。因此，进行这项综述提供新的见解至关重要。本文综述了使用 MABR 技术进行废水处理的进展，包括设计和操作考虑因素、微生物群落生态学和工艺建模。评估了现有设施中工艺强化的试点到全规模 MABR 的处理性能。本文还回顾了 MABR 的其他新兴应用，包括硫回收、工业废水和异生物质生物修复、基于空间的废水处理和自养脱氮。总之，商业应用表明 MABR 技术有利于污染物（COD、N、P、异生物质）去除、资源回收（例如，硫）和减少 NO。需要进一步研究以提高包装密度，同时保持高效的外部传质，了解发生的微生物相互作用，解决现有假设以改进工艺建模和控制，并根据具体情况优化操作条件。
