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The build up of fats, oils and greases in drainage systems, causing blockages and foul odours.
There are three basic types of drainage systems:
Most establishments utilise grease traps. These are prefabricated pits of varying size and construction, which depend on the basic principle of grease floating on water. Effluent enters the trap where a dip pipe or tilting plates enable the water to be separated from the grease, allowing relatively clean water to be discharged. Problems begin to occur if they are not regularly cleaned. A build up grease can result in backing up of pipes, causing restricted flows and blockages. Grease traps effectively concentrate the grease in one central location. The most common problems associated with them are:
Grease collects around “dead points”, corners, low gradient pipes, manholes etc. leading to the emission of unpleasant odours from rotting fat.
Wet wells or sumps are used generally by large premises where access to mains drainage is difficult. All the effluent goes to the lowest point in the establishment where it is periodically pumped to mains.
These sumps effectively become large grease traps, fouling up trip switches and causing pump breakdowns. Both these problems require prompt servicing or the resultant flood can prove very costly.
BioOGF is a naturally occurring microbe blend, which releases enzymes to break down fats, oils and greases that occur in the drain environment. These microbes form a biofilm on the walls of the drainage system, which continuously release enzymes, forming an effective barrier to solid grease deposits. The first sign of this degradation on an existing problem is emulsification of the fats, which swell and become translucent. The fats are unable to solidify and pass further down the system for treatment in the sewage system. The longer the fats are in contact with the enzymes the further the effluent will be degraded.
The use of BioOGF will clean blocked or partially blocked systems, although it will take time if there are heavy grease deposits. Odours will be eliminated. Any “catch all” baskets will need emptying, as they are not affected by BioOGF. N.B Grease traps are now frowned on and many authorities have banned their use in new or altered buildings. Architects are now specifying alternative systems, and are actively recommending biological systems.
Daily dosing of BioOGF will prevent any blockages in drain runs. The biofilm spreads throughout the system, eliminating any existing build-ups and keeping it free from future problems.
Regular dosing into a central point in the wet well will reduce the build up of fats, extending the life of pumps and preventing trip switch fouling. NB: BioOGF does not contain surfactants, unlike many competitive products. Although these hybrid products can be effective, they have the effect of increasing B.O.D, and authorities are increasingly banning the use of biological systems with surfactants
It costs between £150-£500 per visit from a cleaning company, depending on location and size of task in hand. Central London is considerably more expensive than Newcastle. A single trap takes an hour to clean where as a whole system can take a day. These costs are going to be increasing with the change of legislation
“Down time” in kitchens can be very costly
Long drain lines require specialist equipment. The older they are the more likely they are to deteriorate when rodding or jetting occurs.
In some instances the Environment Agency will enforce discharge consents, where a fee is paid on the nature of the effluent. This charge is normally based on Biological and Chemical Oxygen Demands (B.O.D’s and C.O.D’s) The use of BioOGF can dramatically reduce these charges by reducing B.O.D’s by up to 75%.
Self contained or rural establishments have their own effluent treatment plants. Problem effluents can have a dramatic effect on plant efficiency. Effluent treated by BioOGF would already be partially degraded; resident microbes would accordingly work much more efficiently. This will result in reduced sludge build up, less prime tank desilts and therefore lower costs.
As a rule of thumb, 300ml per day is a reasonable dosing level so a 25 litre container should last around 3 months. Factors, which can effect this, up or down, include pipe length, number of meals and variance of organic loading.