BIO-FLO 'HELPS RESTAURANTS KEEP WHAT THEY MAKE.'
FAQ
Q. Where do I apply BIO-FLO® ?
A. In the 3 compartment sink or the floor drain closest to the grease trap. For drains and/or septic pour down the drain furthest from the exit pipe to the city sewer or septic installation.
Q. When do I apply BIO-FLO® ?
A. Once weekly at the close of business; overnight in 24 hour facilities.
Q. Will I pass my health inspections ?
A. BIO-FLO® will keep tanks and traps in bare wall and surface condition with no sludge on the bottom or floating cap on the top. It resets the PH, Total Suspended Solids and pollutant discharge to be within the allowable range with each application.
Q. Will it work on my drains ?
A. BIO-FLO® works along the walls of the pipes as a biofilm, moving in each direction, unaffected by water flow or gravity. It goes everywhere water goes renewing every floor drain, tap, sink, urinal and commode. Not even a toilet will overflow !
BIO-FLO® GREASE TRAP CLEANER IS A GREASE TRAP MAINTENANCE PRODUCT THAT ELIMINATES GREASE TRAP SERVICE, GREASE TRAP ODORS & GREASE TRAP PUMP OUTS. GREASE TRAP CLEANERS BY ENVIROLAB PROVIDE BIOLOGICAL GREASE TRAP CLEANING RESULTING IN RENEWED GREASE TRAPS AND END DRAIN CLOGS. USE BIO-FLO® AND MAKE CLOGGED DRAINS, GREASE TRAP ODOR & GREASE TRAP PUMPOUT SERVICE DISAPPEAR !
BIO-FLO® IS A GREASE TRAP TREATMENT & GREASE TRAP CLEANER THAT ELIMINATES GREASE TRAP CLEANING, GREASE TRAP PUMPING AND GREASE BUILD-UP IN RESTAURANT GREASE TRAPS AND GREASE TRAP SYSTEMS. ENVIROLAB IS A BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU A+ RATED COMPANY OFFERING
GREASE TRAP ADDITIVES, GREASE TRAP TREATMENTS AND NON-ENZYME GREASE TRAP CLEANERS.
Q. What is a Grease interceptor ?From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manhole covers of a Grease Trap outside of a restaurant.
A. Grease traps (also known as grease interceptors, grease recovery devices andgrease converters) are plumbing devices designed to intercept most greases and solids before they enter a wastewater disposal system. Common wastewater contains small amounts of oils which enter into septic tanks and treatment facilities to form a floating scum layer. This scum layer is very slowly digested and broken down by microorganisms in the anaerobic digestion process. However, very large amounts of oil from food production in kitchens and restaurants can overwhelm the septic tank or treatment facility, causing a release of untreated sewage into the environment. Also, high viscosity fats and cooking greases such as lard solidify when cooled, and can combine with other disposed solids to form blockages in drain pipes.
Grease traps have been used since the Victorian era. They are used to reduce the amount of fats, oils and greases (FOG’s) that enter the main sewers. Effectively they are boxes within the drain run that are located between the sinks in a kitchen and the sewer system. They only have waste water flowing through them and are not served by any other drainage system such as toilets. They can be made from a number of different materials; e.g. Stainless Steel such as the Maxi-Trap design, Mild Steel, Plastics, Concrete, Cast Iron and can hold anywhere between 40 liters to 45000 liters and above. They can be located above ground, below ground, inside the kitchen or outside the building.
Types
There are four primary types of devices. The most common are the types specified by ASME (American Society Of Mechanical Engineers). Utilizing baffles inside small 50 US Gallon tanks, they restrict flow and remove 85-90% of the incoming fat, oil, and grease (FOG). Grease trap sizing is based on the size of the 2 or 3 compartment sink, dishwasher, pot sinks, and mop sinks.
The second most common type of interceptor is the large in-ground tank usually 1000-2000 gallons. These units are constructed of concrete, fiberglass, or steel. They have much larger grease and solid storage capacities for high-flow applications such as a restaurant or grocery store. These units can be designed to remove up to 80% of the incoming FOG.
The Third systems known AGRUs (Automatic Grease removal Units) or GRDs (Grease Recovery Devices) remove the surface grease automatically when trapped. They are smaller because they can empty the grease/oil automatically as often as needed to keep up with grease retention in the cabinet. These use electronic means for removal of grease through hydrostatic pressure, skimmer device, or automatic draw-off system. They have an internal strainer basket for food particles, an internal heater element, and an external collector box for removal of grease/oil to recycling container. Grease Recovery devices do not store brown grease therefore odor free. GRD's do not need to be pumped out by an outside pumping service. A good GRD will take over 99% of the grease out of the kitchen waste water.
The fourth type, Grease Converters, trap grease in a tank similar to a grease interceptor, which is then dosed with a culture of micro-organisms to digest the grease, converting it to water soluble, bio-degradeable products which are safely discharged into the drainage system. When used in conjunction with an automatic dosing system, Grease Converters require minimal maintenance, as the grease doesn't require removal, storage or disposal.
[edit]Uses
Restaurant and foodservice kitchens produce a lot of waste grease which is present in the drain lines from the various sinks dishwashers and cooking equipment such as combi ovens and commercial woks. If not removed the grease will congeal within the sewer and cause blockages and back-ups.
In the United States, sewers back up annually “an estimated 400,000 times, and municipal sewer overflows on 40,000 occasions” [1]. The EPA has determined that sewer pipe blockages are the leading cause of sewer overflows, and grease is the primary cause of sewer blockages [2]. Even if accumulated FOG does not escalate into blockages and sanitary sewer overflows, it can disrupt wastewater utility operations and increase operations and maintenance requirements” [3]
For these reasons, depending on the country, nearly all municipalities require commercial kitchen operations to fit some kind of interceptor device to collect the grease before it enters the sewer. Additionally where FOG is a concern in the local wastewater collection system communities have set up inspection programs to ensure that these grease traps and/or interceptors are being maintained on a routine basis.
[edit]Method of operation
The traditional means of achieving this is with the passive grease trap (interceptor). The first patent was lodged by Nathaniel Whiting of California in the late 1800’s. The design remains essentially unchanged. The current industry standard for passive grease interceptors is ASME A112.14.3, (or PDI-GD101).
A grease recovery device (GRD) is a recent development which aims to separate out the grease and water and collect the grease for recycling.Recovered grease from a GRD is referred to as yellow grease. The recovered grease is typically added to the waste vegetable oil (wvo) bin where spent vegetable oil is put from the deep-fryer. The current industry standard for GRD’s is ASME A112.14.4. however some GRDs have been successfully tested using EN1825 procedures in Europe.
Both traditional traps and GRD’s use the same physics which is that grease and oil are lighter than water and will rise to the top when the mix is allowed to stand for a time. They both feature a tank with an inverted weir at the outlet in order to allow water out but not grease. A traditional trap is designed to hold the grease within its tank constantly reducing its working volume and hence its ability to allow the required dwell time of 27 seconds or more for the grease/water separation to occur.
The design codes for traditional traps allow for an average efficiency of as little as 85% between cleanouts for the trap to be considered adequate. This means that on average 15% of the grease in the waste water is entering the sewer line. Eventually, even with a robust cleanout regime, it is likely that there will be a sewer backup.
A traditional grease trap is not a food disposal unit. Unfinished food must be scraped into the garbage or food recycling bin. Milkshakes, gravy, sauces and food solids must be scraped off the dishes before they enter the sink or dishwasher.
A problem with a traditional trap is that it must be emptied either by scooping out or pumping all the contents and carting the effluent away to a specialist renderer or to a landfill. This is a very unpleasant undertaking and is, in consequence, often neglected, causing the same problems as if the trap were not there at all. When a trap is full of fat, oil, and grease , the grease has no where to go but down the drain and into the sanitary sewer or enter the septic system.
To try to maintain some degree of efficiency there has been a trend to specify larger and larger traps. Unfortunately, providing a large tank for the effluent to stand also means that food waste scraps also have time to settle to the bottom of the tank, further reducing the available volume and adding to the clean out problem. A bigger interceptor is not a better interceptor. Traditional grease traps / interceptors cannot handle the grease coming from dishwashers as the water comes in too hot and too fast. The grease from a dishwasher bypasses the trap and interceptor. A traditional grease trap / interceptor does not properly control the flow of the water to allow the grease to cool and settle.
Because it will have been in the trap for some time, grease collected in this way will have been contaminated and is unsuitable for further use. This kind of grease is referred to as brown grease. Imagine leaving a fresh chicken in your refrigerator for longer than two weeks. The rancid smell would be unbearable. There is no difference between rotten food and brown grease. Brown grease ends up in a landfill or hazardous waste site.
The essential difference between a GRD and a traditional trap or interceptor is that the GRD constantly removes the captured grease into a separate container and thus maintains its efficiency. A good GRD will have the following:
A) means of preventing the food scraps from entering the tank (a strainer basket)
B) effluent flow control to give time for the grease to cool and separate from the effluent (retention time)
C) means of regularly flushing out the fine silts which would otherwise collect in the bottom of the tank. (flush valve)
D) stainless Steel Construction (no rust or leaking)
A good GRD will take out a minimum of 98 percent of the grease from the effluent or higher. GRD's are also referred to active grease traps or active grease recovery devices.
Properly installed in the correct kitchen environment a GRD will continuously give high levels of efficiency, ensuring the sewers remain clear with no blockages or back-ups.
A GRD stops the grease at the source. (The drain)
In the UK certain grease trap manufacturers recommend the "combined approach" as described by London Grease Traps. This combination approach uses the mechanical efficiency of the grease trap to physically stop FOGs, along with the biological action of dosing through the direct application of biological agents into the grease trap. It can be highly effective as well as very simple to maintainain and cost effective.
[edit]Disposal of grease
Any grease that enters a grease trap or interceptor is called brown Grease. This grease needs to be disposed of appropriately. This recovered grease is often unsuitable for recycling into bio-diesel and thus will have a very small residual value. Grease Converters eliminate the need for grease disposal by converting collected grease into water soluble, bio-degradeable products that discharge safely into the drainage system.
Other disposal solutions[5]:
Ingredients for paints
Polymers
Incinerator co-fuel
Composts
Digestion
No. 6 Boiler Fuel Substitute
Synthetic Fuels
[edit]See also
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
[edit]References
^ Whitman, D. (2000). The sickening sewer crisis. U.S. News & World Report, 128(23), 16. Retrieved Friday, May 04, 2007 from the Business Source Corporate database.
^ EPA. (2004). Report to Congress: impacts and control of CSOs and SSOs (EPA 833-R-04-001). Washington, DC; United State Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, p. 4-28. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cso/cpolicy_report2004.cfm
^ (Mero, C. & Wilkerson, J. (2007). Reduce Sewer Congestion. Water Environment & Technology, 19(7), 44-52.Categories: Plumbing | Sewerage infrastructure
BIO-FLO GREASE TRAP CLEANER IS A GREASE TRAP MAINTENANCE PRODUCT THAT ELIMINATES GREASE TRAPSERVICE, GREASE TRAP ODORS & GREASE TRAP PUMP OUTS. GREASE TRAP CLEANERS BY ENVIROLAB PROVIDE BIOLOGICAL GREASE TRAP CLEANING RESULTING IN RENEWED GREASE TRAPS AND END DRAIN CLOGS. USE BIO-FLO AND MAKE CLOGGED DRAINS, GREASE TRAP ODOR & GREASE TRAP PUMPOUT SERVICE DISAPPEAR !
BIO-FLO IS A GREASE TRAP TREATMENT & GREASE TRAP CLEANER THAT ELIMINATES GREASE TRAP CLEANING, GREASE TRAP PUMPING AND GREASE BUILD-UP IN RESTAURANT GREASE TRAPS AND GREASE TRAP SYSTEMS. ENVIROLAB IS A BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU A+ RATED COMPANY OFFERING GREASE TRAP ADDITIVES, GREASE TRAP TREATMENTS AND NON-ENZYME GREASE TRAP CLEANERS.