In any laboratory handling biological agents, the decontamination of liquid effluents is not an option: it is a regulatory requirement, an environmental responsibility, and a safety condition for personnel, municipal networks, and the environment. Actini has developed a range of thermal decontamination systems designed to meet this requirement with rigor, simplicity, and efficiency, regardless of the size of your laboratory or the nature of your effluents.
Research, diagnostic, and biological production laboratories generate potentially contaminated liquid effluents daily: wash water, used culture media, and liquids from analyzers, fermenters, or bioreactors. These effluents may contain bacteria, viruses, spores, GMOs, or other biological agents whose untreated discharge into the sanitary sewer is strictly regulated, or even prohibited, by Canadian and provincial biosafety authorities.
In Canada, laboratories are subject to the guidelines of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) as well as provincial regulations governing the management of risky biological materials. Non-compliance with these requirements exposes institutions to administrative sanctions, operational shutdowns, and risks to public health and the environment.
For a long time, effluent decontamination relied on adding chemical disinfectants, such as bleach, biocides, or acids—directly into collection tanks. This approach has major limitations: variable effectiveness based on organic load, risks to personnel handling hazardous substances, storage constraints, costly chemical management chains, and a difficult-to-control environmental impact.
Thermal treatment, through high-temperature inactivation, offers a radically simpler and safer alternative. By heating effluents to 135°C for at least 2 minutes (an F0 50 equivalent level), all known microorganisms, including the most heat-resistant bacterial spores, are destroyed in a guaranteed and validatable manner. No chemical residues, no secondary treatment chains, and no uncertainty regarding effectiveness.
Effluent management is too often considered a peripheral constraint, addressed only after a laboratory’s design is finalized. This approach generates high adaptation costs, compromise solutions, and risks of non-compliance. Conversely, integrating a decontamination system during the design or renovation phase allows for optimized flows, a reduced regulatory footprint, and long-term operational security.
The Actini range was specifically developed to integrate into existing or under-construction environments without major works, offering immediate commissioning and facilitated validation.
System |
Capacity |
Effluent Type |
Power Supply |
Footprint (Standard) |
BSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KUBE | Up to 100 L/day (26 gal/day) | Aqueous | Single-phase 110 V - 60 Hz | 24″ × 32″ (600 × 800 mm) | BSL-1 to BSL-4 (option) |
| SINK | Up to 100 L/day (26 gal/day) | Aqueous | Single-phase 110 V - 60 Hz | 24″ × 32″ (600 × 700 mm) | BSL-1 to BSL-3 |
| MICRO | Up to 300 L/day (80 gal/day) | Aqueous | Single-phase 110 V - 50/60 Hz | 35″ × 43″ (880 × 1,100 mm) | BSL-1 to BSL-3 |
| MICRO30 | Up to 3,000 L/day (790 gal/day) | Aqueous | Three-phase 3 × 480 V - 60 Hz | 53″ × 79″ (1,350 × 2,000 mm) | BSL-1 to BSL-3 |
| DIRECTSTEAM | Up to 1,000 L/day (260 gal/day) | Loaded / Viscous | Single-phase 110 V - 50/60 Hz | 54″ × 104″ (1,360 × 2,650 mm) | BSL-1 to BSL-3 |
Regardless of the chosen system, all Actini equipment shares the same fundamentals: 100% thermal treatment without chemicals, full automation with cycle traceability, a validated design for BSL1 to BSL3 biosafety environments, and factory testing before every shipment. Our equipment is built to last, easy to validate and maintain, and compliant with Canadian and international regulatory requirements.
Every laboratory is unique. Effluent volumes, biosafety levels, space constraints, available budget, and validation requirements, our technical team analyzes your situation and proposes the configuration best suited to your real needs. Contact us for personalized support.
