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Sustainable Hemodialysis Membranes Based on Palm Waste Cellulose and Polypyrrole with Enhanced Mechanical and Filtration Properties

Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: With more patients experiencing end-stage renal disease, there is a need for effective and low-cost dialysis membranes. Polypyrrole/palm-cellulose membranes were developed in and studied for dialysis applications in this work. The waste palm trunks of Iraq were used for cellulose isolation and as support material. In-situ polymerization of polypyrrole was done to enhance mechanical properties and control membrane pore size. Membranes containing 25 to 100 wt% PPy were prepared to assess their performance in simulated dialysis. We used a diaphragm pump that would give us a dynamic flow and non-blood flow as blood would not flow in dialysis but it would have pressure changes. Evaluation of the membrane performance through solute removal, albumin retention, pore size, burst pressure. The membrane composed of 100 wt% PPy exhibited pore sizes ranging from 9.5 nm to 21.5 nm. It also recorded the highest removal efficiencies of 75% for urea, 70% for creatinine. In addition, it removed 63% potassium and 59% sodium while retaining 93% albumin. Burst-pressure measurements performed on three independent specimens per composition showed that the mean burst pressure increased with PPy content, reaching 147.67 ± 2.52 psi for the 100 wt% PPy membrane, with a maximum recorded value of 150 psi. The obtained results illustrate that palm-cellulose/PPy composite membranes exhibit good selectivity, high mechanical stability, and low price of material. Hence, they can be promising candidates for hemodialyser based on simulated results. In the future, we will conduct a study on blood compatibility, whole blood testing, and membrane reuse and electro-assisted transport.
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8845667/v1
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225128576
Cites: 19
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Related to: 10