A review on membrane separation in natural rubber processing: Concentration, recovery and treatment

The surging demand for rubber gloves is fuelled by growing health, hygiene, and safety awareness among the people. However, the production of rubber gloves relies heavily on natural rubber (NR) latex, which is conventionally concentrated through energy-intensive centrifugation, yielding skim latex as a by-product. Additionally, the manufacturing of rubber products generates wastewater with significant contaminant levels. Despite the conventional concentrating and wastewater treatment methods giving satisfactory efficiency, improvements in sustainability via waste reduction, nutrient recovery and wastewater treatment are needed. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the application and challenges of membrane filtration in rubber processing. The processes include concentrating NR latex, recovery of rubber and biochemical components from skim latex and latex serum, and treatment of rubber wastewater. In light of future research, this review suggests that membrane separation could be auxiliary in the rubber industry, making the current processes more sustainable.