Technical characterization of dialysis fluid flow and mass transfer rate in dialyzers with various filtration coefficients using dimensionless correlation equation

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of filtration coefficient and internal filtration on dialysis fluid flow and mass transfer coefficient in dialyzers using dimensionless mass transfer correlation equations. Aqueous solution of vitamin B₁₂ clearances were obtained for REXEED-15L as a low flux dialyzer, and APS-15EA and APS-15UA as high flux dialyzers. All the other design specifications were identical for these dialyzers except for filtration coefficient. The overall mass transfer coefficient was calculated, moreover, the exponents of Reynolds number (Re) and film mass transfer coefficient of the dialysis-side fluid (k _D) for each flow rate were derived from the Wilson plot and dimensionless correlation equation. The exponents of Re were 0.4 for the low flux dialyzer whereas 0.5 for the high flux dialyzers. Dialysis fluid of the low flux dialyzer was close to laminar flow because of its low filtration coefficient. On the other hand, dialysis fluid of the high flux dialyzers was assumed to be orthogonal flow. Higher filtration coefficient was associated with higher k _D influenced by mass transfer rate through diffusion and internal filtration. Higher filtration coefficient of dialyzers and internal filtration affect orthogonal flow of dialysis fluid.