Recent advances in electrochemical processes integrated with anaerobic membrane bioreactor in wastewater treatment

In the face of the growing water shortage and energy crisis, anerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) as a promising technology of wastewater treatment and bioenergy recovery has drawn extensive attention. Recently, electrochemical processes have been integrated into AnMBR systems (electro-AnMBRs) to address the critical issue of membrane fouling in AnMBRs, as well as improve biogas recovery. In this review, we systematically summarized the recent advances of electro-AnMBRs, which would provide useful information and recommendations for the scalable application of electro-AnMBRs. The configuration of electro-AnMBRs and electrode materials are summarized in detail. Furthermore, comparisons of AnMBR performances with/without electrostimulation, including pollutants removal, membrane fouling mitigation and energy recovery, have been conducted based on the available literature. In general, electrostimulation in AnMBRs can not only enhance pollutants removal, but also lower transmembrane pressure increasing rate (10% ∼ 84.4%). Also, electro-AnMBRs operated under the same condition can increase biogas generation rate and methane yield rate, which are 60.0% and 42.1% higher than that of control, respectively. Thereafter, the challenges and future perspective of electro-AnMBR in research and applications are also discussed. This review highlights the potential and challenges that should be solved to facilitate the scalable application of electro-AnMBR in wastewater treatment and energy recovery.