Hemodialysis membrane prepared from cellulose/N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide solution.: I.: Effect of membrane preparation conditions on its permeation characteristics

Flat hemodialysis membranes were prepared from cellulose/IV-methylmorpholine-AT-oxide (NMMO) solutions (dope) with different cellulose concentrations (6-8 wt %) by using a phase-inversion method. The coagulant used was NMMO aqueous solution, of which the NMMO concentration and its temperature were varied in the range of 0 to 50 wt % and 5 to 60degreesC, respectively. The effects of these preparation conditions on the permeation characteristics, the ultrafiltration rate (UFR) of pure water, and sieving coefficient (SC) of dextran, were investigated. The decrease in cellulose concentration of the dope and the increases in both temperature and NMMO concentration of the coagulant gave a membrane with high UFR. Concerning the SC, the increase of the cellulose concentration and the decreases in both temperature and NMMO concentration gave a good result. Consequently, the membrane having the preferable UFR and SC as a hemodialysis membrane was obtained when the 8 wt % cellulose dope was coagulated in water at 5degreesC. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.