Evolving Membrane Technologies: A Historical Lens on Wastewater Resource Recovery

With the intensification of global water scarcity and increase in environmental pressures, there is a growing imperative to reconceptualize wastewater treatment systems beyond conventional pollutant removal toward integrated resource recovery. Membrane technologies have emerged as vital platforms enabling selective separation, reuse of water and recovery of nutrients, metals, and energy carriers. Widespread implementation of membrane technology remains constrained by persistent challenges including membrane fouling, energy intensity, and economic viability. Nevertheless, recent innovations in advanced membrane materials, process configurations, and hybrid treatment schemes offer transformative potential to overcome these challenges. This Research Topic invites contributions that critically examine the evolution and current frontiers of membrane-based resource recovery, with particular emphasis on system-level integration, techno-economic feasibility, and the role of membranes in facilitating the transition toward circular and resilient water and resource management paradigms.

The global imperative to transition from linear water management to circular systems has brought wastewater resource recovery into sharp focus. Membrane technologies, once used mainly for simple filtration, have greatly advanced and can now recover valuable resources like clean water, energy, and nutrients from wastewater. However, critical gaps in scalability, energy efficiency, fouling control, and selective recovery still remain, which hinder the widespread deployment of these technologies in sustainable wastewater treatment frameworks. The primary objective of this Research Topic is to examine these challenges through a historical lens, tracing the scientific, technological, and policy-driven shifts that have shaped membrane-based approaches to wastewater resource recovery. By synthesizing technological innovation with economic and environmental assessments, this collection aims to foster scalable and economically feasible solutions aligned with circular economy paradigms. Contributions exploring novel membrane materials, integrated treatment systems, process optimizations, modelling and data-driven design and circular economy frameworks are encouraged, with a critical evaluation of life cycle sustainability and operational challenges. Ultimately, this Research Topic aims to advance scholarly discourse and foster innovative research that repositions membrane-based wastewater treatment as a critical enabler of resource valorization and a key component of environmentally responsible water management.

This Research Topic aims to explore how membrane technologies have advanced over time to meet the growing demands of sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery. By taking a historical perspective, Research Topic invites original research articles, critical reviews, case studies, short communications and perspectives that reflect on past innovations, current challenges and future directions of membrane-based solutions in circular water management.
Specific themes of interest include:
• Historical development and milestones in membrane technologies such as membrane bioreactors, forward osmosis systems, dynamic membranes and hybrid configurations
• Advances in membrane materials and module design for improved performance and durability
• Membranes for nutrient, metal, and energy recovery from wastewater
• Addressing critical challenges including membrane fouling mechanisms and energy consumption
• Techno-economic analyses and life cycle assessment of membrane-based resource recovery systems
• Digital and data-driven approaches for membrane system design and management
Interdisciplinary contributions integrating environmental engineering, materials science, and economic assessment are particularly encouraged.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: Circular economy, membrane technology, resource recovery, sustainability, wastewater treatment

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.