This
chapter demonstrates the source and pathway of emerging contaminants (ECs) and
their removal by advanced membrane technologies. These ECs are naturally
occurring or synthetic organic pollutants, including pharmaceuticals and personal
care products, estrogens, industrial chemicals, UV filters, pesticides, and endocrine-disrupting
chemicals ubiquitously detected in wastewater and wastewaterimpacted surface
waterbodies. Emerging contaminants have detrimental effects on aquatic flora
and fauna and may affect human health. Due to the persistent nature of ECs,
they are resistant to conventional wastewater treatments. Moreover, different physicochemical
processes have shown ineffectiveness for the removal of ECs. Therefore, there
is a need for robust wastewater treatment processes such as advanced membrane
technologies that can effectively remove these ECs. Advanced membrane technologies
use membranes that separate ECs from the solution and include forward osmosis,
reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, catalytic membranes,
and membrane bioreactors. Briefly, the focus of this chapter is to provide an
overview of different membrane separation technologies and illustrate various examples
of ECs removal.
Keywords: Catalytic membranes, Ceramic membrane, Emerging contaminants, Membrane bioreactor, Forward osmosis, Hollow fiber, Membrane fouling, Nanofiltration, Polymer membranes, Rejection of contaminants, Reverse osmosis, Ultrafiltration, Water reuse.
