Membrane technologies for municipal wastewater treatment

The occurrence of emerging or newly identified contaminants in water resources is becoming a great concern for public health. The worldwide freshwater scarcity is also increasing. These have resulted in rapid growth in the demand for nonconventional water resources and sophisticated approaches to wastewater treatment. Existing conventional water treatment plants were not designed for these emerging contaminants. Therefore, new approaches to wastewater treatment are required. Among the most promising processes for various types of wastewater treatment and water reuse, membrane-assisted technologies have been accepted as suitable and reliable in different applications of water reuse. This chapter discusses the application of membrane processes and membrane-assisted technologies in wastewater treatment and water reuse. The chapter mainly focuses on membrane bioreactors (MBRs), including a comparison between conventional activated sludge processes and MBRs. Emerging membrane-assisted technologies are also discussed