Autopsy of a Hemodialysis Machine: Potential for Recycling… : Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
e largest market share, which had met their end-of-use terms (10-12 years of use according to French regulations). Methods One 5008 CorDiax (Fresenius Medical Care AG) and one Artis/Evosys (Gambro AB) were dismantled and each piece was analyzed in terms of weight and principal components (plastic, metal, mixed materials and electronic components). The time needed to disassemble the machine was recorded. Samples of 15 plastic elements were further studied using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR spectroscopy). The results were compared with the data provided by the manufacturers. Results The dismantled HD machines weighed 125.0 kg and 141.4 kg; plastic, metal, mixed materials and electronic components accounted for 28%, 15%, 51% and 6% of the first machine’s weight, and 28%, 19%, 40% and 13% of the second’s. The time needed to manually disassemble a dialysis machine into macro elements was around 12 hours. Dismantling into single materials was evaluated as needing at least on
