A recent review paper on methods of membrane fouling control and cleaning provides an excellent example of the need to consider physical and chemical technologies in conjunction with microbial treatment systems. Environmental biotechnologies not only require engineered systems to enable and maintain the microbially-mediated processes that drive them; these elements can also interact in complex ways, thanks to the microbiome’s capacity for adaptive evolution. Better understanding of such interactions is at the heart of EBNet’s Microbiology/Engineering theme, and is fundamental to scale-up and implementation.
Dr Yongqiang Liu, corresponding author for the paper and WG Lead for EBNet’s Aerobic Granulation Processes WG, said “With the requirements for quaternary treatment by the recast EU Urban wastewater treatment directive and for resource recovery, it is becoming increasingly challenging for biological treatment alone to meet future discharge standards or recycling demand”.
The WG’s animation explaining aerobic granulated sludge systems is available HERE (subtitled version here). Webinars, including one on the use of centrifugation as a physical method to enhance process intensification, are on the WG Playlist. For more publications, and for details of the WG’s activities to March 2026, see the updated report which is also available on the WG webpage.
A critical review of electromagnetic fields, ultrasound, and nanobubbles for membrane fouling control and cleaning: Mechanisms, applications, challenges and opportunities. Li, Y.Q. and Liu, Y.Q., 2025. Desalination, p.119828.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2025.119828
