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Recent advances in membrane bioreactor technology for wastewater treatment in China

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Abstract

Since the introduction of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) in China in the early 1990s, remarkable progress has been achieved on the research and application of this technology. China has now become one of the most active fields in the world in this regard. This review outlines the development of MBR-based processes in China and their performance of treating municipal and industrial wastewaters. Since membrane fouling is a critical operational problem with MBR processes, this paper also proposes updated understanding of fouling mechanisms and strategies of fouling control, which are mainly compiled from publications of Chinese researchers. As for the commercial application of MBR in the country, the latest statistics of large-scale MBR plants (>10000 m3·d−1) are provided, and the growth trend of total treatment capacity as well as its driving force is analyzed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xia Huang, Kang Xiao & Yuexiao Shen

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  1. Xia Huang
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  2. Kang Xiao
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  3. Yuexiao Shen
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Correspondence to Xia Huang.

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Xia Huang received her PhD degree in Environmental Chemistry and Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan in 1988. Then she joined the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, and became associate professor in 1992 and got the full professor position in 1997. She worked in Department of Ecological Engineering of Toyohashi Institute of Technology, Japan from 3/1995 to 3/1997 as an associated professor. She focuses on membrane based wastewater treatment processes, microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment and electricity generation, and novel nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes. She has published more than 100 papers in recent 5 years, and was awarded Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009 best paper, the 2nd Class of the State Science and Technology Progress Award twice and several awards issued by Ministry of Education of China.

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Huang, X., Xiao, K. & Shen, Y. Recent advances in membrane bioreactor technology for wastewater treatment in China. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. China 4, 245–271 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-010-0240-z

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