Comprehensive Report

Figure 8. Solids in the bottom of the
reactor vessel on trailer 1.
Figure 7. Outlet valve and pipe on
the reactor vessel of trailer 1.
never be completely emptied. To carry over some
of the culture to the next production cycle will
not cause any problem (apart from a reduction in
productivity) so long as the culture remains sterile.
Where it is critical is in the event of a contaminated
or failed batch. Removing by hand the highly toxic
remnants of the failed batch from the reactor would
be no easy task. At Al Hakam, Iraq’s principal BW
facility, the production run failure rate was reported
as running at 10 to 20 per cent. The production conditions
were far better than they would be on these
trailers, so ISG would anticipate high failure rates
using this process as a mobile BW agent production
platform.
• Sampling. No dedicated sample port is provided.
The only means of sampling mid-cycle would
be from the drain valve located at the base of the
reactor. The dispositions of the drain valve and
the outflow of the discharge pipe are such that two
operatives would be required to perform the sampling
operation (see Figure 8).
Productivity Issues
With a working volume of only some 450l, this reactor
could hardly be described as a production scale
unit. Each cycle will be approximately 48 hours in
duration (a culture time of 36 hours plus 12 hours
turnaround) and would be expected to yield only
some 45 liters of 10x concentrated BW agent. On this
basis, 2 production cycles (at least 4 days’ production)
would be required to produce sufficient BW agent to
charge a single R-400 bomb (Fill capacity of 90l).
Effluent Gas Handling
Effluent gases from the reactor exit the vessel and
are cooled by passage through the condenser/cooler
X-2. Condensate is collected in the knock-out pot
T-5 and the dried gases are passed to a high pressure
compressor via a particulates filter F-3. The gases are
Biological
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