Anaerobic MBR for Resources Recovery from Organic Waste and Wastewater in Small or Decentralised Locations

Dear Colleagues,

The current management of the urban wastewater and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste is mostly based on aerobic processes (mostly activated sludge systems and composting, respectively), which are known as energy consuming technologies. However, the new Circular Economy (CE) framework, together with the increasing need for a reduction in greenhouse gasses emissions (see e.g. European Green Deal) will guide the future tendency in policy making and encourage the use of more sustainable technologies. Anaerobic-based systems allow recovering of energy (biogas) and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from organic waste and wastewater. The anaerobic waste sludge, after stabilizing (composting) can also be used for land application as a source of organic matter for soil amendment and prevention of desertification, which also helps carbon sequestration.

The shift to anaerobic treatments applied to organic waste and wastewater is close to become a reality. Different technologies are available for anaerobic treatment, depending on the organic load rate, treatment volumes, working temperatures, etc. Whereas for most of large and centralized treatment plants anaerobic processes are already being used for waste sludge treatment, for small or decentralised locations extended aeration process is the most common technology. However, the new emerging Anaerobic MBR technology offers the possibility to switch to anaerobic-based processes in such small locations, so that all the organic matter in the wastewater can be anaerobically treated.

Therefore, this Special Issue will present research challenges and opportunities of Anaerobic MBR technology as the core process for resources recovery from organic waste and wastewater in small or decentralised locations.

Dr. Josep Ribes
Guest Editor

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• resource recovery
• anaerobic processes
• Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor
• sewage treatment
• biogas production
• energy recovery
• water reclamation
• organic fraction of municipal solid waste