Improving hollow fiber dialyzer efficiency with a recirculating dialysate system. I: Theory and applicability.

Abstract

The mathematical theory that underlies a novel non-regenerated recirculating dialysate system (RDS) for improving diffusive clearance in hemodialyzers is presented. The theory states the conditions that hemodialyzers must meet to be suitable in RDS optimization. We have verified the applicability of the RDS for several Cuprophan and polysulfone (PS) commercial dialyzers, showing that PS (synthetic) membranes achieve the highest increments of diffusive clearance. A numerical simulation analysis over more general conditions defined by the dimensionless groups of the system demonstrated that the highest diffusive clearance improvements are achieved in dialyzers operating with a low value of the diffusive mass-transfer area/blood flow rate ratio. This study has provided the base for the assessment of the performance of the RDS as compared to several high-efficiency systems, presented in Part II of this work [M. Prado, L. M. Roa, A. Palma, and J. A. Milan, Ann. Biomed. Eng. (2004) submitted].