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Q39 (IAS/2024) Environment & Ecology › Pollution & Conservation › Biological remediation methods Official Key

"Membrane Bioreactors" are often discussed in the context of :

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology integrates biological degradation with membrane filtration to provide an efficient and compact system for wastewater treatment.[1] MBR is widely used for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.[2] The technologies most commonly used for performing secondary treatment of municipal wastewater rely on microorganisms suspended in the wastewater to treat it.[3] The use of microfiltration membrane bioreactors (MBRs), a technology that has become increasingly used in the past 10 years, overcomes many of the limitations of conventional systems.[4]

The other options are incorrect as membrane bioreactors are specifically designed and utilized for wastewater treatment applications, not for assisted reproductive technologies, drug delivery systems, or vaccine production. The technology combines biological processes with membrane filtration to efficiently remove contaminants from municipal and industrial wastewater, making it a key innovation in environmental engineering and water resource management.

Sources
  1. [1] https://www.nature.com/research-intelligence/nri-topic-summaries/membrane-bioreactor-technology-for-wastewater-treatment-micro-13183
  2. [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666016421000311
  3. [3] https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-08/documents/membrane_bioreactor_fact_sheet_p100il7g.pdf
  4. [4] https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-08/documents/membrane_bioreactor_fact_sheet_p100il7g.pdf
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Q. "Membrane Bioreactors" are often discussed in the context of : [A] Assisted reproductive technologies [B] Drug delivery nanotechnologie…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 7.5/10
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This is a classic 'Term-Association' question derived from Environmental Technology. It is highly fair because wastewater management is a core theme in Indian policy (Namami Gange, Smart Cities). If you track 'technologies for water recycling' or STP upgrades, this is a headline term.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Are membrane bioreactors used in assisted reproductive technologies?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 2/5
"The use of microfiltration membrane bioreactors (MBRs), a technology that has become increasingly used in the past 10 years, ... These systems have the advantage of combining a suspended growth biological reactor with"
Why this source?
  • Describes membrane bioreactors (MBRs) as a technology used for municipal wastewater treatment.
  • Focuses on combining biological reactors with microfiltration membranes for wastewater — not reproductive medicine.
Web source
Presence: 2/5
"Modified Membrane Bioreactors (MMBRs) Compared to traditional treatment methods, modified membrane bioreactors (MMBRs) have several benefits in wastewater treatment."
Why this source?
  • Discusses modified membrane bioreactors (MMBRs) and their benefits specifically in wastewater treatment.
  • Provides technical detail about MMBRs in environmental/wastewater contexts rather than any application in assisted reproduction.
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Microfluidic analysis plays a crucial role in assisted reproductive technologies."
Why this source?
  • Describes technologies used in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), specifically highlighting microfluidic analysis.
  • Mentions microfluidics as a key ART technology but does not mention membrane bioreactors, suggesting different toolsets are discussed for ART.

Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: How do Organisms Reproduce? > How do Organisms Reproduce? CHAPTER7 > p. 116
Strength: 3/5
“This is not true for all multi-cellular organisms. They cannot simply divide cell-by-cell. The reason is that many multi-cellular organisms, as we have seen, are not simply a random collection of cells. Specialised cells are organised as tissues, and tissues are organised into organs, which then have to be placed at definite positions in the body. In such a carefully organised situation, cell-by-cell division would be impractical. Multi-cellular organisms, therefore, need to use more complex ways of reproduction. A basic strategy used in multi-cellular organisms is that different cell types perform different specialised functions. Following this general pattern, reproduction in such organisms is also the function of a specific cell type.”
Why relevant

Highlights that multicellular organisms use specialised cells/organs for reproduction rather than simple processes.

How to extend

A student could extend this by noting that human reproduction involves specialised medical interventions and equipment, and therefore ask whether specialized engineering systems (e.g., membrane technologies) are used in those interventions.

Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: How do Organisms Reproduce? > 7.3.3 (d) Reproductive Health > p. 125
Strength: 4/5
“While surgical methods are safe in the long run, surgery itself can cause infections and other problems if not performed properly. Surgery can also be used for removal of unwanted pregnancies. These may be misused by people who do not want a particular child, as happens in illegal sex-selective abortion of female foetuses. For a healthy society, the female-male sex ratio must be maintained. Because of reckless female foeticides, child sex ratio is declining at an alarming rate in some sections of our society, although prenatal sex determination has been prohibited by law. We have noted earlier that reproduction is the process by which organisms increase their populations.”
Why relevant

States that surgical methods and medical procedures are used in human reproductive health and can involve clinical/technical interventions.

How to extend

One could reasonably check whether clinical reproductive technologies employ engineered systems (for fluid handling, filtration, waste management) such as membrane-based units.

Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: How do Organisms Reproduce? > 7.1 DO ORGANISMS CREATE EXACT COPIES OF THEMSEL THEMSELVES? > p. 113
Strength: 3/5
“Therefore, a basic event in reproduction is the creation of a DNA copy. Cells use chemical reactions to build copies of their DNA. This creates two copies of the DNA in a reproducing cell, and they will need to be separated from each other. However, keeping one copy of DNA in the original cell and simply pushing the other one out would not work,”
Why relevant

Emphasises that reproduction involves precise handling of DNA and cellular apparatus, implying laboratory-level manipulation in assisted reproduction.

How to extend

A student could infer that labs doing DNA/cell manipulation might use controlled bioprocess equipment, and therefore investigate whether membrane bioreactors are part of such lab infrastructure.

Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: How do Organisms Reproduce? > 7.2.6 Spore Formation > p. 118
Strength: 2/5
“Even in many simple multi-cellular organisms, specific reproductive parts can be identified. The thread-like structures that developed on the bread in Activity 7.2 above are the hyphae of the bread mould (Rhizopus). They are not reproductive parts. On the other hand, the tiny blob-on-a-stick structures are involved in reproduction. The blobs are sporangia, which contain cells, or spores, that can eventually develop into new Rhizopus individuals (Fig. 7.6). The spores are covered by thick walls that protect them until they come into contact with another moist surface and can begin to grow. More to Know?”
Why relevant

Describes specialised reproductive structures (sporangia/spores) and protection until conditions allow growth, indicating reproductive processes can require controlled environments.

How to extend

This suggests checking whether assisted reproduction similarly requires controlled environmental/filtration systems (where membrane bioreactors might be applied) for culture or containment.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 25: Agriculture > Bio-fertilizers > p. 364
Strength: 2/5
“o Bio-fertilizers are the preparations containing live or latent cells of efficient strains of nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubilizing or cellulolytic microorganisms used for application to seed or composting areas with the objective of increasing the numbers of such micro-organisms and accelerating those microbial processes which augment the availability of nutrients that can be easily assimilated by plants”
Why relevant

Explains use of preparations containing live microorganisms to influence biological processes, showing that applied biological/bioprocess systems are used in real-world biology.

How to extend

A student could extend this by asking if engineered bioprocess systems (including membrane reactors) are used in clinical or lab-scale biological preparations relevant to assisted reproduction.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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