Current Advancements in Membrane Bioreactors

Dear Colleagues,

The various detrimental effects of wastewater generated from different anthropogenic activities are among the biggest challenges to sustainable development. Among various technologies developed to tackle wastewater, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) have been extensively used in the past few decades due to their cost-effectiveness, wide applications, technical feasibility, etc. MBRs are recognized as a promising solution with superior quality and, more crucially, with a lower environmental footprint. They have been widely applied in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment systems due to their advantages over conventional activated sludge systems. However, at present, MBR technology is still facing problems such as fouling and scaling, energy intensiveness, and relatively high costs compared to conventional processes. Therefore, research and innovative solutions are urgently required to realize the practical application of MBRs. 

This Special Issue specifically focuses on membrane bioreactors. MBRs are deemed to play a major role in the future of safe water production, wastewater reclamation, and resource recovery. Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on different types of MBRs, including hybrid MBR processes, welcoming both original research articles and critical reviews. Topics may include but are not limited to novel MBR technologies, emerging contaminants’ removal, the optimization of existent MBR treatment plants, efficient membrane modification, membrane fouling control, drinking water quality improvement, wastewater reclamation and reuse, resource materials’ recovery, renewable energy production and life cycle assessment. New insights into the fouling phenomena as a main obstacle to widespread MBR plants with recent fouling mitigation methods are encouraged for submission. Efforts regarding novel aerobic and anaerobic MBR processes, including Moving Bed MBR (MBMBR), Membrane Distillation MBR (MDBR) and Osmotic MBR (OsMBR), for the treatment of various wastewater are also welcome. Articles covering the existing limitations of MBRs which prevent them from being practical on a larger scale, the existing challenges and future research efforts are also encouraged.

Dr. Sher Jamal Khan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.