Fabrication and properties of recycled poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes

The structure and performance of waste PVDF hollow fiber membranes were investigated by shear viscosity and melt flow index (MFI) and the effect of running time on the properties of waste PVDF hollow fiber membranes was discussed. In addition, the recycled PVDF hollow fiber membranes were fabricated via dry-wet spinning method. The obtained results showed that the PVDF molecular weight decreased with the increase of the running time. The decrease of PVDF molecular weight also led recycled PVDF hollow fiber membranes to have higher porosity and better permeability. However, the mechanical properties and BSA rejection were lower. Moreover, the wettability of recycled PVDF hollow fiber membranes was similar to original PVDF hollow fiber membrane which was prepared from PVDF powder.