| Artificial kidney can be considered as a membrane dialysis/filtration system to remove metabolic wastes from blood in a human body whose kidney has partly or totally lost its functions. Currently-used hollow fiber membranes in an artificial kidney are made up of nature cellulose, substitute cellulose, synthetic cellulose, and polymers. The pore size varies greatly in these membranes, causing the loss of important proteins from the blood during the hemodialysis. The sponge like pore structure in these membranes has a relatively large resistance to the diffusion and ultra-filtration of the toxic uremic solutes from blood flow side to dialysate flow side, reducing the clearance of the solutes. This membrane structure can also trap readily the wastes in the blood, causing the fouling of the membrane, decreasing the efficiency of the dialysis. In addition, washing/cleaning this type of the membranes for reuse of the artificial kidney is relatively difficult. To solve those problems, in this study, an experimental system was developed to make/fabricate new ceramic membranes using aluminum foils and anodic aluminum oxidization (AAO) technique. Various experimental conditions were considered and tested to make the fabrication process more stable, and the acid disturbance problem was overcome by using a floating case system in the process of barrier layer removal and pore widening of the AAO membranes. Ultrastructure of the developed ceramic membranes were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Effects of the type of acid, acid concentration, oxidization time, and electric voltage on the pore size formation in the ceramic membrane were systematically investigated. From this experimental and numerical study, in conclusion, the developed ceramic membrane may be used in artificial kidney to minimize loss/leaking of important proteins from the blood during the hemodialysis because of its uniform pore size distribution; to facilitate and optimize the solute transfer from blood side to dialysate; and to prevent the membrane fouling and to be cleaned easily because of its single-file-hole pore structure. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
