A brief review of dynamic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment: Research status and development trends

In membrane bioreactors used for wastewater treatment, self-forming dynamic membranes have recently been considered as promising alternatives for high-cost conventional micro/ultrafiltration membranes. Recent research has focused on selecting suitable support material and reactor configuration, as well as on evaluating treatment performance and optimizing operating conditions. This review begins with a bibliometric analysis to describe publication patterns and then provides information on recent developments, mainly from the last five years, on the above aspects. Several factors affecting dynamic membrane formation and stable operation are critically examined, revealing the crucial role of biological conditions (aerobic or anaerobic), support material pore size, hydraulic/solid retention time and filtration conditions (permeate flux and cleaning methods). The technology has demonstrated its ability to produce high-quality effluent with rapid dynamic membrane formation, where the appropriate selection of biological conditions is critical for stable operation. Additionally, sustainable long-term operation can be achieved by optimizing hydrodynamic conditions and implementing physical cleaning strategies. Finally, future research efforts aimed at addressing the current limitations of the technology that would be practical on a larger scale are proposed.