WO1996026021A1 - Treatment process and plant for the disposal of biologically contaminated substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

A process is disclosed for treating biologically contaminated substrates and for cleaning and decontaminating containers and equipment soiled with said substrate within a closed installation in which both substrates and containers and equipment are treated in such a way that biologically active cellular substances cannot reach the waste water system nor the atmosphere together with the substrate itself nor with the rinsing water used to clean the containers and equipment. After being emptied, the containers and equipment are cleaned in several steps (2, 4, 6, 8) with rinsing water (3, 5, 7, 23) and cleaning additives in a collecting tank (20), then are dry-heated (9) up to temperatures above 200 °C, inactivating any biologically active cellular substances that may still adhere to the containers and equipment. The liquid and solid phases of the substrate are separated in the collecting tank and in the cleaning liquids, and the dry substrate or a strongly concentrated substrate are disposed of by being subsequently incinerated in a combustion chamber (32). The 'thin phase' (22) formed by the effluents of the substrate concentration process (21) and by overflow water from the rinsing water tanks (3, 5, 7) is purified by appropriate processes until it may be reused as rinsing water, whereas the partial volume of 'thin phase' (22) that may not be used as rinsing water is completely purified by an appropriate process from all biologically active cellular substances, so that after a final check for residual impurities (26) it may be discharged without danger into waste water or reused with a new batch of substrate (11). Air or steam-air mixtures that leave the treatment chambers and rinsing water tanks are subsequently decontaminated by a thermal process.

Description

Process and treatment plant for the disposal of biologically contaminated substrates

The invention relates to a method and the essential features of a treatment plant, which are used to clean batch vessels, which contain liquids with health-endangering potential and to dispose of the contents harmlessly for humans and the environment, the dangerousness of the contents being caused by biological cell substances, which are do not have inactivated by sterilization.

In particular, scientific investigations in laboratories in microbiological and genetic engineering research or pharmaceutical production result in substrates with ingredients that pose a risk to people and the environment. Such laboratories or production facilities must meet increased safety requirements. For example, they can only be entered via locks and in special protective clothing To avoid uncontrolled air exchange from the inside to the outside and the associated carry-over of germs, the air pressure is kept slightly below the ambient pressure and the removal of used air takes place only through special filter devices. However, the carry-over of biologically active cell substances via the waste water is not clearly prevented that accumulates in the laboratory In particular the disposal of used nutrient medium is insufficiently solved. The organisms which are hazardous to health are usually used to dispose of the preparation substrates contain a common sterilization process, such as steam sterilization at 121 ° C or 134 ° C, and the solutions are then fed to the domestic wastewater. The majority of all organisms are permanently inactivated by the sterilization and no longer pose a danger However, there are also organisms that cannot be safely inactivated by the common stencilization processes, e.g. the so-called BSE virus. Even greater incalculable risks arise from substrates that contain manipulated genetic information carriers, so-called DNA sequences (DNA = deoxyribonucleic acid) DNA -Sequences are fragments of protein chains that represent the genetic information In genetic engineering research, they are decoded and specifically modified to produce certain desired properties of cells

If such previously non-naturally occurring DNA sequences get into the wastewater or the atmosphere, there is a risk that they will be absorbed by microorganisms and integrated into their own DNA the environment is dangerous

It is characteristic of the DNA sequences that they can practically not be destroyed in liquid media. Studies have shown that they "melt" at temperatures around 800 ° C, but may even recombine when cooled

Even if a stenciling process promised success at over 800 ° C, the technical effort would be disproportionately high. In order to produce 800 ° C in a water phase, the treatment room required had to withstand a pressure of several hundred bar

According to the current state of the art, such substrates are only sterilized in the usual way and then fed to the wastewater, the risk often being declared less, but without being able to calculate it exactly

As part of the review of the invention by the German Patent Office, the following 2 citations were listed

(11 DE 43 03 034 A1

Mobile disinfection system, especially for hospital waste

• The task of this system is to disinfect infectious gauze and reduce its volume (column 1, lines 50-55) for comparison, subject of registration

The invention has for its object to define an economical process and the crucial features of the associated system, the microorganisms and DNA sequences that are not inactivable by common sterilization methods, makes them biologically ineffective, and ensures that such a way by a closed system contaminated substances do not have to be discharged into the domestic wastewater or the atmosphere, and the auxiliary equipment is safely decontaminated.

• The system is designed for the processing of waste, which consists primarily of solids and only to a small extent from liquids (column 1, lines 30-35). for comparison subject of registration

Designed primarily for liquid waste disposal and

Cleaning of containers.

• The aim of the treatment is the irreversible inactivation of the pathogenic microorganisms contained in the waste (column 4, lines 19-20).

For this purpose, the waste is treated by means of a moist temperature of> 105 ^° C. over a period of 10 minutes (column 5, lines 33-35) for comparison purposes

No treatment by moist heat, but inactivation of the microorganisms and other biologically active cell substances by combustion (dry substrate) or dry heat (containers). The effective range extends far beyond the disinfection of pathogenic germs, it also includes the cell substances that cannot be inactivated by common methods of disinfection or steam sterilization.

The system described in document (1) is not suitable for inactivating more resistant germs or even DNA sequences, nor for cleaning containers and recovering liquids. (2) PE 39 38 54g C2

High temperature pesinfection system

• This system is also designed for the processing of waste, which consists primarily of solids and only to a small extent from liquids. for comparison, subject of registration

Designed primarily for liquid waste disposal and

Cleaning of containers.

• The aim of the treatment is the reliable inactivation of even highly resistant germs (Col. 2, lines 17-19).

Water vapor of approx. 140 ° C is used for this. (Col. 2, line 21) for comparison subject of application

No treatment by moist heat, but inactivation of the microorganisms and other biologically active cell substances by combustion (dry substrate) or dry heat (containers). The effective range extends beyond what is possible by steam sterilization at 140 ° C. It also includes the cell substances that cannot be inactivated by standard steam sterilization methods.

The system described in document (2) is not suitable for inactivating DNA sequences, nor for cleaning containers and recovering liquids.

A safe biological inactivation of the DNA sequences would be possible by burning. As a result, it is conceivable to feed the substrates to an incineration plant, but the incineration of liquid waste is technologically complex. As long as there is still an aqueous phase during the combustion process, the temperature will not rise above the steam temperature. Only after the liquid phase has completely evaporated can the oxidative destruction of the DNA sequences be achieved by strongly overheating the steam. The corresponding dwell time of the steam-gas flow in the superheater must be ensured.

Even if this method of disposal is successful, it is unclear how to treat the containers in which the substrates were previously located. It is Although it is conceivable to use only disposable containers made of plastic, for example, and burn them for such tests, this will be partly uneconomical, since it is often expensive reaction vessels, e.g. fermenters, which have to be made of glass or stainless steel due to their operating conditions. This route only appears possible for simple substrate batches in test tubes or the like.

The invention has for its object to define an economical process and the crucial features of the associated system, the microorganisms and DNA sequences that are not inactivable by common sterilization methods, makes them biologically ineffective, and ensures that such a way by a closed system contaminated substances do not have to be discharged into the domestic wastewater or the atmosphere, and the auxiliary equipment is safely decontaminated.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a method within a processing plant, which comprises the following processing stages:

see. Figure 1, basic flow diagram

First of all, the preparation process for the containers and equipment is described:

In preparation step 1, the containers are emptied (1) in such a way that the substrate only comes into contact with parts of the system that can themselves be decontaminated (description of the emptying device, see below). The containers and auxiliary equipment are then arranged on washing racks (Fig. 2; 101) , which either only serve as a holder, or also have pipe registers that allow the containers to be sprayed out intensively. The pipe registers of the washing racks are supplied with rinsing liquid via an automatic coupling device inside the washing chamber.

The containers are then fed to a washing chamber (Fig. 2; 102) and first rinsed (2). As cleaning liquid, water is pumped from the pre-rinse water tank (3) into the washing chamber and distributed over the pipe register. Depending on the properties of the substrate, cleaning aids such as detergents can be added. The contaminated waste water from this treatment step is preferably not returned to the pre-rinse water tank (3), but rather to the substrate collection tank (20) or to a treatment step in which a substrate solution of a similar degree of contamination is processed, e.g. cleaning and concentrating the thin phase (22) after the first concentration step.

In further treatment steps, the containers and equipment are successively cleaned with rinsing water of a higher degree of purity. Main rinsing (4) with water from the main rinsing water tank (5) and then rinsing (6) with water from the rinsing water tank (7) follows. In many applications, it will not be mandatory, but advantageous, to connect a final rinsing process (8) with water from the pure water tank (23). With each rinsing process, the drain water from the washing chamber is preferably fed to the rinsing water tank with the next higher degree of contamination. As a result, the loss in the respective rinse water tanks is constantly compensated for and the consumption of rinse water is kept low, so that little rinse water also has to be treated.

The various rinse water tanks are additionally connected to pipes so that water can be transferred from the cleaner tanks to the less clean ones without washing, if necessary, but not vice versa.

Depending on the requirements due to the type of contamination on the containers and equipment, it is conceivable to work with even more or with fewer washing stages.

If a washing stage is operated with cleaning additives, the effect of which is inhibited by the cleaning additives of the subsequent washing step, the waste water from the subsequent washing stage is not fed to the rinsing water tank of this washing stage, but directly to a substrate and rinsing water cleaning stage that is appropriate for the degree of soiling (22). Example:

If acidic cleaning additives are used for main rinsing (4) and alkaline ones for rinsing (6), it may be disadvantageous to feed the waste water from the rinsing process (6) to the main rinsing water tank (5), since the alkalinity of this water increases consumption acidic cleaning additive during main rinsing (4). With each washing process, the temperature is regulated to the value that promises the best washing success by supplying heat to the relevant rinsing water tank or in the washing chamber. For main rinsing (4) and rinsing (6) this will preferably be in the range between 45 ° C and 95 ° C. In the pre-wash (2) it may be necessary to cool the pre-wash water (3) by indirect heat exchange, since there is a risk of protein-containing substrate soiling that caking occurs on the containers and equipment. It is also possible to use cold fresh water for pre-rinsing. The disadvantage, however, is that an additional amount of water has to get into the system and be treated, for which there may not be a possibility of reuse after the treatment.

The different washing processes can take place in succession in one and the same washing chamber, or in separate chambers. In the second case, the washing rack must be transported from one chamber to the next by a suitable transport device.

With each washing process, air or steam-air mixture is displaced from the washing chamber, on the one hand by feeding the rinsing water, and on the other hand due to the additional steam pressure that occurs when the rinsing water is heated. Since these gases can also be carriers of biologically active cell substances, they must not escape into the atmosphere untreated, as is common in common cleaning systems.

For this reason, the air must be heated to temperatures that safely inactivate the biologically active cell substances. This is preferably done by supplying it to the combustion chamber in which the dry substrate is also burned (32). Steam-air mixtures, such as those formed when the rinsing water is heated, are preferably first freed of the steam component by indirect cooling and the condensation (12) associated therewith before the largely dry air component is fed to the combustion chamber. The condensate is fed into one of the rinse water tanks or combined with the thin phase from the substrate preparation (22).

After the various stages of wet cleaning (2; 4; 6; 8), the containers and equipment are treated with dry heat (9). Due to the dry heat it can be expected that the remaining cell substances still adhering are reliably inactivated by an oxidative process, combustion so to speak. The temperatures required for this will be above 200 ° C. As described at the beginning, DNA sequences were in the wet

Environment not yet safely inactivated at these temperatures In a dry environment, however, another physicochemical reaction mechanism takes place, the permanent one

Inactivation of all biologically active cell substances results in sufficient atmospheric oxygen being available in the treatment chamber during the heat treatment

The lower the temperature of the, the longer the required holding time will be

Heat treatment lies

The heating can take place, for example, by circulating air and heating it by electric radiators or by heat exchange with the exhaust air from the

Dry substrate burning (32) or by using infrared radiators within the

Treatment chamber

The heat treatment (9) is preferably carried out in a specially designed

Treatment chamber take place, but can optionally also take place in a washing chamber

Preferably, the heat treatment (9) is followed by active cooling of the

Container (10), which can take place in the same chamber in which the heat treatment took place

Exhaust air from the heat treatment chamber is in turn preferably the combustion chamber

Dry substrate combustion (32) supplied

The heat treatment of the container (9) can also be omitted if the container and

Devices do not leave the critical laboratory or production area, and if any remaining biologically active cell substances are not harmful to the

Reuse of the containers

As an alternative to the heat treatment of the containers, treatment with strong acids, for example hydrochloric acid, is also possible, by means of which the biologically active cell substances have been inactivated. After the acid treatment, this had to be neutralized

However, the type of treatment is disadvantageous compared to the first, since it is considerably higher

Effort in the technical implementation would arise and additional problems with the

Dispose of the effective solutions The processing route for the substrate and the rinsing water is described below:

After the substrate in the substrate collection tank (20) is present in sufficient quantity, it is fed to a series of processing steps which serve to separate the dry mass of the substrate from the liquid phase. The technical equipment and separation processes depend on the properties of the substrate to be processed. The following parameters of the substrate are particularly important:

* Initial dry matter

^* Viscosity

^* Tendency to foam

^* Tendency to bake under the influence of temperature

^* Tendency to clot, flaking

^* Proportion of volatile substances

^* Percentage of abrasive substances

^* Percentage of substances that tend to exothermic reactions

^* Proportion of chemically aggressive substances (pH value, etc.)

^* Proportion of undissolved or emulsified substances

Accordingly, a large number of known separation processes are possible, of which the following may be mentioned as examples:

^* Addition of flocculants

^* Centrifugation, decanting

^* Filtration, filter presses

^* Cyclone separation

^* Falling film evaporation under vacuum

^* Film evaporator with mechanically moving parts

^* Distillation

^* Rectification

^* Ultrafiltration

^* Reverse osmosis

^* Electrodialysis

^* ion exchange With the properties of the substrates to be expected, the measures "addition of flocculants" and "centrifuging, decanting" appear to be particularly promising as the first stages of substrate concentration (21) under the mechanical separation processes. The thermal separation processes appear in the first steps of substrate concentration (21) the "film evaporation with mechanically moving parts" promising

In the subsequent stages for cleaning the thin phase of the substrate (22), it can be expected that the methods ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and distillation or the combination of several are particularly suitable. As expected, all particles must be separated out in order to separate the critical biologically active cell substances. which are larger than approx. 10 ^_ 8 to 10 "9 m. With the methods mentioned, this degree of separation can be achieved according to the prior art

Distillation is preferred because this process works practically wear-free.Ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis use membranes that have to be rewound and blocked after a certain period of use.The disposal of the removed membranes is a problem, since they are probably not for the Cleaning and heat treatment in the treatment plant are suitable. They either have to be burned in a special waste incineration plant, or the combustion chamber for dry substrate combustion (32) is designed so that these membranes can be burned in it. It is advantageous for a combination of the processes, the membrane separation process (ultrafiltration, Reverse osmosis) only after the distillation, so that the membranes are only loaded with a few residual contaminants

The electrodialysis and ion exchange processes also have the disadvantage that disposal problems arise as soon as their capacity is exhausted

After the or the stages for cleaning and concentration of the thin phase (22), the pure phase is fed to the pure water tank (23) or the collecting tank for the ultrapure water (25) if it is certainly completely free of biologically active cell substances

The water in the pure water tank (23) does not necessarily have to be completely free of biologically active cell substances, since it is only used to make up the other rinse water tanks and is used to rinse the containers and equipment (8), which are then heat treated anyway.

The entire flushing water volume remains in circulation; however, the amount of liquid from the prepared substrate also comes into the system. This amount is from the clean water tank (23) if necessary via a further post-cleaning stage (24), e.g. is carried out in the form of a reverse osmosis or distillation, to the collecting tank for the ultrapure water (25). From this it can be removed for reuse for the substrate preparation or for another use. If there is no use, it can also be sent to the domestic wastewater. For safety's sake, however, it should be subjected to a final check for DNA sequences (26) beforehand.

If the pure water tank (23) is already completely free of biologically active cell substances due to the previous treatment measures, the collecting tank for the ultra pure water (25) and the subsequent cleaning (24) can be omitted.

The concentrate which is formed in the first stages of substrate concentration (21) is fed to a drying stage (30). Here, too, several methods can be used, the application of which again depends on the properties of the substrate. Drying in a rotating drum, which is heated from the outside and in an inclined position by internal screw conveying, feeds the dried substrate to the combustion chamber for drying the dry substrate (32). A spray drying process is probably less suitable. If necessary, a drying aid can also be added during the drying process, which can also act as an additional fuel (e.g. sawdust). The exhaust steam rising during the drying of the concentrate (30) is condensed (31) by indirect heat exchange and fed to one of the processing stages for the thin phase (22). The non-condensable gases produced during the condensation of the exhaust steam (31) are introduced into the combustion chamber for dry substrate combustion (32).

Adequate oxygen supply and sufficient dwell time within the combustion chamber must ensure that the dry substrate is completely burned, and that the polluted air supplied from various preparation stages is sufficiently long is kept at a temperature by which the biologically active cell substances are completely inactivated. For this purpose, the flue gas flow may have to be passed through reheater facilities.

It may be necessary to use a firing process that contributes to improved mixing in the combustion chamber. This can e.g. be a fluidized bed process. This method also has the advantage that it is particularly suitable for burning substances with poor calorific value, as may be the case. is the case with the dry substrate, is well suited.

When using a fluidized bed combustion system, it may also be possible to feed the concentrate from the first substrate concentrates (21) directly to the combustion chamber without drying it beforehand.

A disadvantage of this design, however, is that water is lost from the system with the concentrate and additional fuel must be used in the combustion chamber for the evaporation and overheating of the water content. As a result of the additional volume of gas resulting from the evaporation of the water content, the combustion chamber and the flue gas discharge must be made significantly larger.

If the discharge of still biologically active cell substances via the flue gas cannot be reliably ruled out, they still have to be cleaned by passing them through suitable particle separators in the flue gas post-purification (34) e.g. an electric filter or fabric filter. The separated particles are fed to the device for discharging the ash (33).

The device for discharging the ash (33) is preferably designed so that the ash is still reheated for a defined period of time in order to reliably inactivate any adhering biologically active cell substances. This facility can e.g. in the form of an outside be carried out by the flue gas heated pipe with slow internal screw conveyance.

In the following, examples of devices are described which can ensure that when the substrate container is emptied prior to the washing process, no substrate residues remain uncontrolled on external system parts. In the case of a washing chamber (102), which is fed via a simple folding door (103), the folding door preferably also serves as a pouring device for emptying the containers and as a drip tray when the containers are placed with the opening facing down on the washing frame (101). The substrate is fed directly to the washing chamber (102) via an inclined plane (104), which is incorporated in the folding door (103).

If the system is designed with an inlet ramp (105), a substrate collection and drip tray must be installed over the entire area of the inlet ramp (105). This is preferably designed in the form of individual trays (106) in such a way that the edges of the individual trays (106) overlap and, as a result, no substrate can pass between the trays. The individual tubs (106) can be dismantled and selected in size so that they can be accommodated on a washing rack (101) and can thus be washed and decontaminated within the system. This process can be carried out by the operator of the system at regular intervals. It is considered advantageous to convey the washing racks (101) in a hanging manner via an overhead transport rail (107), since in this case the transport rail does not come into contact with the drip off substrate, as would be the case with an underlying transport rail.

In order to be able to collect large amounts of substrate, it can be advantageous to use each

Equip the washing rack (101) with a drip pan (108). When loading the

Washing racks emptied the substrate into the collecting trays (108) and that

Drained substrate. When the washing racks pass through the system, the collecting trays (108) are automatically emptied and washed with them.

For emptying the collecting trays (108) within the Anaige, e.g. the following

Principles are used:

The drip pan (108) can be attached to the washing rack so that it is inside the

Wash chamber can be pivoted by a suitable drive so that it is completely emptied in the tilted position (109).

The drip pan (108) can be provided at the deepest with an opening (110), the outside of the washing chamber by a spring-loaded valve plate (111) with a sealing ring

(1 12) is closed. Within the washing chamber, the valve plate is lifted from the tub floor against the spring force by a suitable movement element (113), thereby allowing the substrate and the rinsing water to flow away. Since any part of the system can leak, through which biologically active cell substances can escape, it is necessary to install suitable collecting devices below the system, but these must be carried out again so that they can be cleaned of substrate contaminants and decontaminated advantageous to build up a collecting device in the form of individual divisible tub elements (114), each of which is only large enough to be washed and decontaminated within the system. Preferably, the tub elements (114) are designed so that they are tightly sealed to one another so that if a tray element (114) overflows, the substrate is taken up by the adjacent tray elements without liquid penetrating downwards. The collection volume of all tray elements (114) must be greater than the maximum liquid volume that can escape from the system

If the seal between the individual tub elements (114) cannot be regarded as safe enough, a tightly welded large-area floor pan (115) is used either exclusively or in addition to the tub elements (114) under the entire area of the system, as this is not washed in the system and can be decontaminated, it is preferably equipped with panel heaters (116) on the underside and the rare walls, by means of which it is possible to heat the tub after pumping out the leaked liquid to such an extent that residual adhering biologically active cell substances are safely inactivated

The drip pans are equipped with a suitable alarm device to report a leak, as well as with a pumping device that can be decontaminated within the system when disassembled

Claims

Claims: 1.Procedure for the disposal of biologically contaminated substrates as well as for cleaning and decontamination of the containers and equipment contaminated by the substrate within a closed system in which both the substrates and the containers and equipment are treated in such a way that biologically active cell substances do not contain the substrate itself , can still get into a sewage system or into the atmosphere with the rinsing water for cleaning the containers and equipment, characterized in that A) after emptying the substrate into a collecting tank (20), the containers and equipment are subjected to a multi-stage cleaning (2, 4, 6, 8) with rinsing water (3, 5, 7, 23) and additional cleaning agents and then by a dry heating process are heated to temperatures above 200 ° C (9), whereby the possibly still adhering biologically active cell substances are inactivated, and B) the liquid and solid phases of the substrate in the collecting tank and the cleaning liquids are separated from one another by means of respectively adapted, generally multi-stage measures of mechanical or thermal concentration or by filtering and drying (21, 22, 24, 30) in order to form the dry substrate or to dispose of a highly concentrated substrate by subsequent combustion in a combustion chamber (32), the ashes possibly being reheated for a defined period of time in a heated heating section (33) during the discharge from the combustion chamber, and the resulting flue gases before they exit into the If necessary, the atmosphere is passed through a flue gas cleaning system (34), and the material to be separated is fed to the ash heating, and C) the 'thin phase' (22), which is formed from the substrate concentration (21) and overflow water from the rinse water tanks (3, 5, 7), as long as it is cleaned with adapted methods that it can be reused as rinse water, and D) the proportion by volume of the 'thin phase' (22) that is not used as rinsing water, as long as it is completely cleaned of biologically active cell substances using adapted processes so that after a final check for residual contamination (26) it is safely added to the waste water or for the renewed substrate approach (11) can be used, and E) air or steam-air mixtures emerging from the treatment chambers and rinsing water tanks are decontaminated by thermal aftertreatment, in that the steam fraction is preferably condensed out by steam-air mixtures by indirect heat exchange (12, 31) and fed to one of the rinsing water or together with the 'Thin phase' of the substrate (22) is cleaned, and the remaining dry air portion is fed to the combustion chamber (32), which also serves to burn the dry mass of the substrates. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat generated from the combustion of the dry substrate (32) including the additional fuel for tempering the rinse water tanks (3, 5, 7) and / or for heat treatment of the container (9) and / or Substrate concentration (21) and concentrate drying (30) used and thereby largely recovered. 3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning of the containers and equipment is carried out by a multi-stage process, a separate tank with different purity of the rinsing water (3, 5, 7, 23) being kept ready for each of the rinsing steps and with each rinsing step, the rinsing water from the tank in question is fed to the washing chamber and, after the rinsing step, is drained into the rinsing water tank with the next higher degree of contamination. 4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after cleaning, the containers and equipment are treated with an acid solution instead of the treatment with dry heat and can then be neutralized by an alkali treatment in order to inactivate still adhering biologically active cell substances, 5. Processing plant for performing the method according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the devices which serve to empty the substrates are designed so that they can be washed and decontaminated within the treatment chambers by the washing racks (101) preferably be equipped with drip pans (108) that are only emptied and treated within the washing chamber (102) and inlet ramps (105) are preferably equipped with drip trays (106) that are dimensioned such that they can be washed and decontaminated within the system. 6. Processing plant according to claim 5, characterized in that all the individual parts of the plant which come into contact with the substrate are designed so that they are either in the installed state or in the removed and, if necessary, disassembled in the event of a defect or an error in the process Condition in the treatment chambers (2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10) can be washed and heat-treated so that they can be disposed of or reused without the risk of adhering biologically active cell substances. 7. Processing plant according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the entire system is set up either in a dense collecting device in the form of a floor pan (1 15) which is large enough to collect the maximum amount of liquid escaping, the floor pan (1 15 ) if necessary, is heated to temperatures by surface heating (116), through which possibly still adhering biologically active cell substances are inactivated, or is secured by a collecting device consisting of individual tub elements (114) that are densely twisted together and are dimensioned such that they are disassembled Condition within the plant are decontaminable.