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Case Study for Optimal Grease Trap Performance
Introduction:
Grease traps
can be found in virtually all food service. By design, a grease trap not only traps grease, but it also traps other solid food material. The purpose of a grease trap is the
on-site collection of food waste that would otherwise flow directly to the municipal waste water treatment facility. As the waste collects, the trap becomes less efficient and
finally reaches the point where it becomes clogged and fails. Trap failure results in drain back-ups and the release of obnoxious odors into the food handling establishment.
Once it has failed, the trap will require pumping and cleaning. The result is added expense and inconvenience for the management of the food service facility, and offensive
odors for the patrons. As demonstrated on the front of this information sheet, the use of BioLine's specially selected bacteria will significantly reduce the need for pumping
while, controlling obnoxious odors commonly associated with a grease trap.
Procedure:
This study was
performed in specially designed and constructed 10 gallon polycarbonate grease traps modeled after grease traps in commercial use. Since the types of waste found in grease
traps differs from location to location, a uniform mixture of food waste, consisting of 33% fat, 33% protein, and 33% carbohydrate was added twice daily. The traps were
inoculated with a sludge mixture obtained from various commercial grease traps. The sludge material contained high levels of various naturally occurring bacteria found in
commercial traps. After one week of adding food waste and sludge material, one trap was treated with BioLine's bacterial strains. The bacteria were added once per day,
after the second addition of waste material. The traps were also flushed 5 gallons of water twice a day. After six weeks, the traps were disassembled and the contents tested
for levels of fat, oils, and grease (FOG), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and volatile fatty acids (odor).
Results:
The test results
demonstrated a dramatic difference between the control trap and the trap treated with BioLine bacteria. This difference can be seen in Pictures I and 2. These pictures are a
side view of the grease traps. Waste material enters the trap on the left side of the picture. The traps contain a baffle system that is designed to trap the grease and solid
waste that enters the trap allowing only liquefied material to exit the trap (right hand side of the picture). Picture 1 is the control trap and Picture 2 is the trap treated
with Western Drain Supply's bacteria. As depicted in these pictures, the untreated trap has a substantially greater accumulation of solids than the treated trap. In fact
the solids level in the control trap is at the point where it will soon clog and cause an odor-releasing backup.
Table 1. Quantitative Results of Grease Trap Study
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Parameter
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Control
(ppm)
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w/bioaugmentation
(ppm)
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Percent of
Reduction
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Fat, Oils, and Grease
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340
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70
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79%
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand
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1487
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293
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80%
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Volatile Fatty Acids (odor)
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22.13
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0.96
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96%
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Summary:
Untreated grease traps need to be pumped frequently, at significant expense, and emit obnoxious odors, often in the middle of a
working kitchen or other food handling facility. Additional expense is often incurred by the fines and surcharges that are imposed by a
municipality due to elevated levels of BOD, FOG and suspended solids.
As demonstrated by the photographs and test data presented in this technical bulletin, the addition of a grease trap maintenance product
containing BioLine's selected, non-pathogenic bacterial strains significantly reduces the level of fats, oils, greases, solids and odors in grease traps.
Due to legislative, environmental, and maintenance issues the use of BioLine's cost effective biological additive is essential for a properly
maintained grease trap.
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