The objective of this effort is the development of a compact, efficient, and economical, portable artificial kidney based on electrochemical regenerative dialysis. In this system, an electrochemical reactor is used to degrade waste products, principally urea, to benign gaseous reaction products. The complete regeneration system also includes a standard dialyzer, an activated carbon bed to adsorb organics and traces of chlorinated species, ion exchange beds to remove excess anions and cations, and ancillary equipment (DC power supply for the electrochemical reactor, pumps, sensors, alarms, and ultrafiltration). The development effort includes system modeling, design, construction and characterization of an improved reactor. The solution kinetics for the reaction of HC10 with urea (and other metabolites) will be determined. The dialysate will be analyzed quantitatively to identify all chlorinated organics and determine their final disposition. Extensive toxicity tests will be conducted on the regenerated dialysate to make certain that no new toxic products are returned by the system. A complete system will be assembled and demonstrated. The advantages of the proposed device include: smaller size and weight than available systems, flexible configuration, capability for extended and repeated use, overall economy, and the potential for development of a wearable artificial kidney.
