Development of a self-regenerative unit for carbon dioxide removal from anaesthetic circuits: Preliminary results using hydroxide solutions

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO 2) removal from anaesthetic circuits is currently performed by soda-lime canisters. However, this procedure has many drawbacks, being the most important its relation with post operative cognitive decline and death in the first year after surgery. In this paper an alternative technology is proposed based on a self-regenerative unit using hollow fiber membrane contactors and amino acid salts for gas-liquid absorption of CO 2. This technology, is expected to overcome all the drawbacks associated with soda-lime units. A preliminary experiment was evaluated under real conditions for CO 2 removal, using hydroxide solutions. The system performed similarly to soda-lime canisters, being able to remove CO 2 from 5 % to 0.5 % (in nitrogen) during an hour, from a 10 L/min gas stream.