Effects of pH and urea concentration on urea removal from dialysate by enzymatic conversion and gas absorption using a capillary hemodialyzer

This paper reports the effects of initial urea concentrations and pH values on the performance of a capillary hemodialyzer for the removal of free ammonia (NH3) formed by enzymatic hydrolysis of urea. Air was chosen as the gas phase. NaOH was used for alkalinization of dialysate. It was shown that one of the most important parameters was free ammonia concentration. The degrees of alkalinization and the initial urea concentration, were also important. Although even without the addition of NaOH, about 42% of the initial urea can be removed in one hour.