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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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