Membrane Technology for Virus Removal: Mechanisms, Efficiencies, and Applications in Centralized and Decentralized Water Treatment Systems

Waterborne pathogenic viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus, and adenovirus are widely detected in contaminated water environments and pose significant threats to public health. As a sustainable and efficient physical barrier, membrane technology has been increasingly applied to remove pathogenic viruses from both drinking water and wastewater. However, unlike well-established centralized systems and large-scale decentralized cluster systems, decentralized infrastructure, particularly household point-of-use units, often lacks effective water treatment strategies. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive analysis of the performance and underlying mechanisms of mainstream membrane technologies for virus removal. We further discuss the applicability of customized membrane processes across varying infrastructural scales. We emphasize that while large centralized and decentralized cluster systems urgently require improved integrity monitoring and early warning frameworks for public health protection, decentralized household systems demand low-cost, low-maintenance, and high-performance membrane units to ensure safe domestic water supplies. Finally, this review highlights the critical challenges facing current membrane technologies in viral retention, providing new insights to guide future research and regulatory compliance.