This study calculated the energy and greenhouse gas life cycle and cost profiles of transitional aerobic membrane bioreactors (AeMBR) and anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Membrane bioreactors (MBR) represent a promising technology for decentralized wastewater treatment and can produce recycled water to displace potable water. Energy recovery is possible with methane generated from AnMBRs. Scenarios for these technologies were investigated for different scale systems serving various population densities under a number of climate conditions with multiple methane recovery options. When incorporating the displacement of drinking water, AeMBRs started to realize net energy benefits at the 1 million gallons per day (MGD) scale and mesophilic AnMBRs at the 5 MGD scale. For all scales, the psychrophilic AnMBR resulted in net energy benefits. This study provides insights into key performance characteristics needed before an informed decision can be made for a community to transition towards the adoption of MBR technologies.

这项研究计算了过渡好氧膜生物反应器（AeMBR）和厌氧膜生物反应器（AnMBR）的能源和温室气体生命周期以及成本分布。膜生物反应器（MBR）代表了一种用于分散式废水处理的有前途的技术，并且可以产生循环水来代替饮用水。AnMBR产生的甲烷可以回收能量。对这些技术的情景进行了调查，研究了在多种气候条件下具有多种甲烷回收选择的，服务于各种人口密度的不同规模系统。当结合饮用水的排量时，AeMBR开始实现每天100万加仑（MGD）规模的净能源收益，而中温AnMBR达到5 MGD规模的收益。在所有规模上，具有嗜冷性的AnMBR都能带来净能量收益。