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Introduction Self-forming dynamic membrane (SFDM) technology has been gaining significant interest due to its potential advantages, notably lower capital and operational cost and easier fouling con...

Presence of organic micropollutants (OMP) in wastewater has become an emerging concern due to OMP's bioaccumulation capacity in the aquatic environment and their harmful effects. As a result, numerous processes have been explored as alternatives to conventional activated sludge (CAS) to address OMP removal. Among these, membrane bioreactor (MBR) has become a promising option due to its capacity to retain high microorganism concentration and produce high effluent quality with low sludge production. MBR has been proven effective in OMP removal. Nonetheless, recalcitrance of other OMPs and membrane fouling limited MBR efficiency. Integration of MBR with other processes such as advanced oxidation, ozonation, adsorption, reverse osmosis, and electrochemical processes increased MBR efficiency while quorum sensing (QS) inhibition through quorum quenching (QQ) was proven effective in membrane fouling mitigation.

This paper presents self-forming dynamic membrane (SFDM) process as a promising alternative to membrane technology. A stable dynamic membrane (DM) is mainly composed of gel layer and cake layer which are responsible for filtration and biodegradation. An understanding of the formation mechanism and impact of operating conditions, support mesh, sludge properties and configuration on the formation, and characteristics of the dynamic membrane is essential to optimize the efficiency and reduce fouling propensity of this technology. The paper thus aims to promote its applicability on wastewater treatment. Review of the influence of mesh support properties, different operating conditions and sludge properties on SFDM performance, and cost comparison between MBR and SFDMBR technologies.

High operational cost due to membrane fouling propensity remains a major drawback for the widespread application of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. As a result, studies on membrane fouling mitigation through the application of integrated processes have been widely explored. In this work, the combined application of electrochemical processes and moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology within an MBR at laboratory scale was performed by applying an intermittent voltage of 3 V/cm to a reactor filled with 30% carriers. The treatment efficiency of the electro moving bed membrane bioreactor (eMB-MBR) technology in terms of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and orthophosphate (PO4-P) removal significantly improved from 49.8% and 76.7% in the moving bed membrane bioreactor (MB-MBR) control system to 55% and 98.7% in the eMB-MBR, respectively. Additionally, concentrations of known fouling precursors and membrane fouling rate were noticeably lower in the eMB-MBR system as compared to the control system. Hence, this study successfully demonstrated an innovative and effective technology (i.e., eMB-MBR) to improve MBR performance in terms of both conventional contaminant removal and fouling mitigation.