Development of cellulose-polypyrrole microfiber membranes and assessment of their capability on water softening

The application of conducting polymer composite for water softening is based on the use of pyrrole's electrochemical properties joined with the flexibility and relatively high surface areas associated with cellulose fibers, to develop a new hybrid material that exhibits the inherent proprieties of both components. This hybrid would allow to promote an ion exchange reaction between the composite membrane and the hard water. The cellulose membranes obtained from banana plant agricultural waste (raquis), were uniform with individual and well separated fibers. The fibers were encapsulated by a continuous coating of polypyrrole by an in situ oxidative chemical polymerization. The amount of polypyrrole deposited on the fiber increased by increasing the monomer concentration, behavior that was identified through the observation of differences on the intensity of the light to dark color shift that coated the fibers after the polymerization. The ion removal capability of the membrane coted with the conducting polymer was tested using an experimental device, finding reductions on the conductivity for hard water within 23 to 66 μs/cm after 6 hours of the assay.