Progress in Enzymatic Membrane Bioreactor: a review of research methodology and reaction characteristic

The enzymatic membrane bioreactor (EMB), which is a combination of a membrane separation process and an enzymatic reaction, is increasingly applied in food and agriculture fields. This article reviews the previous literatures of this topic, and particularly focuses on mathemaitc models which simulate the EMB system behavior and factors restricting EMB performances. The article consists of three parts. The first sector discusses mathematic models of EMB which are mostly derived from Michaelis-Menten equation, Fick's diffusion law, chemical equilibrium and material balance, and affecting factors whose interactions are revealed by response surface methodology, in order to optimize the parameters of EMB. The second section summarizes the reaction characters of EMB. Finally, the future research areas of EMB are proposed.