The polymer precursor plays a vital role in the membrane structure, as well as its permeance and rejection capability. In general, the polymer utilized in research is purified many times to obtain a higher purity, thus resulting in expensive and energy-consuming raw materials for membranes. Herein, we propose a facile method to prepare a nanofiltration hollow fiber membrane via reclaimed rubber recovered from waste tires as a precursor. The permeation tests reveal that the rubber-derived membrane with 12 wt% precursor concentration and three internal coating times exhibited the best performance for dye removal, with a methyl blue rejection rate of up to 93.1%. After three further filtration cycles, the permeate permeance obtained from the R1-12-L3 membrane could be maintained at 8.3 LMH/bar with a methyl blue rejection rate of 98.1%. These experimental results indicate that the rubber-derived hollow fiber membrane could be a feasible alternative for wastewater purification due to its low-cost, high-performing, and self-cleaning properties. (C) 2020 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
