Applying waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to fabricate membranes is a promising approach toward the circular economy and sustainable development. In the present study, waste PET bottles were applied to fabricate pervaporation (PV) membranes for the first time. Sorbitan trioleate (Span-85) was used as a hydrophobic additive, and the obtained membranes were examined in the PV separation of nitrobenzene (NB) as a hazardous material from water. Increased water contact angle, higher d-spacing (confirmed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy), and decreased glass transition temperature (confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry) were observed for the membranes containing Span-85 and contributed to an increase in NB flux. The PET/1 wt% Span-85 membrane represented the highest separation factor (at 56,157.07) among the examined membranes, 332-fold as high as the neat PET membrane.

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