Cartridges useful in cleaning dialysis solutions

• US 10,603,421 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Holdings Incorporated (Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA)
• Original Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Holdings Incorporated (Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA)
• Inventors: Merchant, Stephen A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Savage, Matthew O
• Application Number:
  US15/736,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20180177933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1696 with dialysate regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/28 Peritoneal dialysis ; Other peritoneal treatment, e.g. oxygenation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/127 with provisions for heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/15 Detection of leaks
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3317 Electromagnetic, inductive or dielectric measuring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3331 Pressure; Flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3334 Measuring or controlling the flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3368 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2207/00 Methods of manufacture, assembly or production
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/206 Packing or coating
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/22 relating to the construction of the column
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/0211 Compounds of Ti, Zr, Hf
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/0292 Phosphates of compounds other than those provided for in B01J20/048
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/06 comprising oxides or hydroxides of metals not provided for in group B01J20/04
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/20 comprising free carbon; comprising carbon obtained by carbonising processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/28004 Sorbent size or size distribution, e.g. particle size
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/28011 Other properties, e.g. density, crush strength
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/28052 Several layers of identical or different sorbents stacked in a housing, e.g. in a column
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 20/3092 Packing of a container, e.g. packing a cartridge or column of chromatography columns B01D15/206
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2220/62 In a cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/02 : Processes using inorganic exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/09 : Inorganic material
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 41/02 : Processes using inorganic exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 41/10 : Inorganic material
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 47/024 : where the ion-exchangers are in a removable cartridge

Abstract

Cartridges useful in regenerating or purifying dialysis solutions are described as well as methods to regenerate or purify spent dialysis solutions. Dialysis methods using the sorbent cartridges of the present invention are further described.

Claims

1. A sorbent cartridge, comprising:

a continuous sidewall extending between a first end wall and a second end wall, which define a chamber;

at least first and second layers, wherein the at least first and second layers extend across the chamber within the continuous sidewall, wherein at least one of the first and second layers comprises a first region, a second region adjacent the first region and located closer to the continuous sidewall than the first region, first solid particulate media in the first region having a first average packing density, second solid particulate media in the second region having a second average packing density, and a packing density differential between the first solid particulate media in the first region and the second solid particulate media in the second region, wherein the first average packing density is less than the second average packing density when at least the first and second layers are wet, and wherein the first solid particulate media and the second solid particulate media in at least one of the first and second layers has the same or substantially the same chemical composition.

2. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first region is a central region that is surrounded by the second region.

3. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the second region comprises a radially outer peripheral edge extending around the chamber and contiguous with the continuous sidewall and a radially inner peripheral edge which is contiguous with a radially outer side of the first region.

4. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first packing density in grams per cm³ is at least 5% less than the second packing density in grams per cm³.

5. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first region has a first void fraction and the second region has a second void fraction, wherein the first void fraction is at least 5% greater than the second void fraction.

6. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first solid particulate media comprises a first fraction of a supply of solid particles and the second solid particulate media comprises a second fraction of the supply of solid particles, wherein from 90% to 92% by number of solid particles in the second region are finer than solid particles in the first region and from 8% to 10% of the solid particles in the first region are finer than the solid particles in the second region.

7. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first solid particulate media comprises a first sieve cut of a supply of solid particles wherein the first sieve cut has a first particle size range and the second solid particulate media comprises a second sieve cut of the supply of solid particles wherein the second sieve cut has a second particle size range, wherein the first particle size range comprises at least one particle size that is larger than all the particle sizes of the second particle size range.

8. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the second solid particulate media are arranged as a particle bed comprising multimodal particle packing.

9. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first solid particulate media are arranged as a particle bed comprising a unimodal particle packing.

10. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first solid particulate media in the first region has a first crystallinity and the second solid particulate media in the second region has a second crystallinity, wherein the first crystallinity is greater than the second crystallinity which results in greater packing density in the second region than the first region when at least the first and second layers are wet.

11. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein a packing density of solid particulate media of the at least one of the two layers increases in a radial direction from a geometric center to an outer peripheral edge of the at least one of the two layers.

12. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, further comprising an inlet and an outlet, wherein the first and second layers are arranged sequentially with the first layer located closer to the inlet than the second layer, wherein the first layer has a first central region and a first peripheral region that surrounds the first central region, and the second layer has a second central region and a second peripheral region that surrounds the second central region, wherein the first peripheral region of the first layer comprises solid particulate media having a first peripheral region packing density and the second peripheral region of the second layer comprises solid particulate media having a second peripheral region packing density that is less than the first peripheral region packing density.

13. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the first and second layers contains zirconium phosphate.

14. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein both of the first and second layers comprise solid particulate media.

15. The sorbent cartridge of claim 1, wherein the continuous sidewall having a tapered shape.

16. A dialysis system to regenerate or purify spent dialysis fluid comprising the sorbent cartridge of claim 1.

17. A method of making the sorbent cartridge of claim 1, comprising:

applying a first vibrational or mechanical force to the first region that is less than a second vibrational or mechanical force applied to the second region which results in the first average packing density being less than the second average packing density.

18. A sorbent bed comprising at least first and second layers, wherein at least one of the first and second layers comprises a first region, a second region adjacent and surrounding the first region, first solid particulate media in the first region having a first average packing density, second solid particulate media in the second region having a second average packing density, and a packing density differential between the first solid particulate media in the first region and the second solid particulate media in the second region, wherein the first average packing density is less than the second average packing density when at least the first and second layers are wet, and wherein the first solid particulate media and the second solid particulate media in at least one of the first and second layers has the same or substantially the same chemical composition.

19. The sorbent bed of claim 18, comprising a multilayer stack which comprises at least the first and second layers, wherein the multilayer stack is insertable into a sorbent cartridge housing.

20. A method to regenerate or purify dialysis fluid comprising passing dialysis fluid through a sorbent cartridge, said sorbent cartridge comprising:

a continuous sidewall extending between a first end wall and a second end wall, which define a chamber;

at least first and second layers, wherein the at least first and second layers extend across the chamber within the continuous sidewall, wherein at least one of the first and second layers comprises a first region, a second region adjacent the first region and located closer to the continuous sidewall than the first region, first solid particulate media in the first region having a first average packing density, second solid particulate media in the second region having a second average packing density, and a packing density differential between the first solid particulate media in the first region and the second solid particulate media in the second region, wherein the first average packing density is less than the second average packing density when at least the first and second layers are wet.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein unused solid particulate media in the at least one of the first and second layers layer is from 1% to 5% by volume based on total volume of solid particulate media therein.

22. A sorbent cartridge, comprising:

a) a continuous sidewall extending between a first end wall comprising an inlet and a second end wall comprising an outlet, which define a chamber;

b) an enzyme-comprising layer;

c) a zirconium phosphate-containing layer that follows the enzyme-comprising layer within the sorbent cartridge, wherein the zirconium phosphate-containing layer comprises a first region, a second region adjacent the first region and located closer to the continuous sidewall than the first region, first solid particulate media in the first region having a first packing density, second solid particulate media in the second region having a second packing density, and a packing density differential between first solid particulate media in the first region and the second solid particulate media in the second region wherein the first packing density is less than the second packing density when at least the first and second solid particulate media are wet.

23. The sorbent cartridge of claim 22, further comprising, from inlet to outlet:

a) a first carbon-containing layer that precedes the enzyme-comprising layer;

b) the enzyme-comprising layer, which follows the first carbon-containing layer within the sorbent cartridge;

c) a second carbon-containing layer that follows the enzyme-comprising layer within the sorbent cartridge;

d) the zirconium phosphate-containing layer, which follows the second carbon-containing layer within the sorbent cartridge;

e) a hydrous zirconium oxide layer that follows the zirconium phosphate-containing layer comprising hydrous zirconium oxide-chloride having an alkaline pH; and

f) a (bi)carbonate layer that follows the hydrous zirconium oxide layer comprising sodium (bi)carbonate.