Biological Grease Traps

Description

Biological activators

Unlike strong acid or caustic drain cleaners, ACO biological activator works safely, but more slowly. The biological activator can be used to unblock drains and can be used to replace aggressive caustic and acid cleaners. ACO biological activator works in two distinct ways on the FOG wastes that settle in the drainage pipework and grease trap system:

• The activator introduces an enzyme that assists the natural biological process of breaking down long molecular chain FOG’s into a manageable solution to then be discharged safely into the drainage system.
• The activator introduces other micro-organ-isms that actively feed on the FOG’s present in the solution. Biological activators will not digest solid residues from the food preparation process quickly, so the sediment basket requires periodic removal for cleaning to ensure efficient operation. ACO Clear biological activator is available in 5 or 20 litre containers.

ACO activator process

Depending upon the application, space availability and physical layout of the area, grease traps can be installed in parallel to share the hydraulic load as shown below:

FSS Grease Trap Technical data

Product dimensions

Minimum clear distance above top of grease trap required for service access

Drawing:

Accessories:

Grease trap connection accessories

FSP Grease Trap Technical dat

Product dimensions

Minimum clear distance above top of grease trap required for service access

Drawing:

Accessories:

Grease trap connection accessories

Dosing System Components

Features and benefits

Mains operated dosing unit (MODD) enables maximum operational efficiency of grease management system to be established quickly.

Mounting frame

Accessories

Biological Activator ACO Clear

1. Available in 5 or 20 litre containers.

2. ACO Clear biological activator introduces an enzyme that assists in breaking down fat, oil and grease deposits. Micro organisms actively feed on fats present in the drainage system or grease trap.

3. The activator can be applied manually, pouring a prescribed amount into the drain directly, or as recommended, via MODD or BODD units.

Operation and Maintenance

Biological dosing regime

Table 1 – dosing times

Once installed, grease trap performance can be optimised by using the following procedure:

• Establish total dosing time using table 1 opposite, referring to section “Grease Trap Sizing” to arrive at ‘meals per day’. Then convert the dosing times to seconds for the MODD or dosing unit (Table 1).
• Establish hourly load on grease trap by considering daily average patterns for all facilities connected to the trap. Table 2 below gives an example of a sixteen hour period with a total capacity of 700 meals per day. Load percentages are shown in row A, row B multiplies load percentage by total dosing time for a MODD unit in order to arrive at the time to be entered into dosing unit programme at the start of that period. For example the unit should be programmed for 30 seconds running at 10am, one minute at 2pm and so on. Programme the unit accordingly.
• Alternatively, where the load on the grease trap is variable, the dosing can be programmed at the end of the working period, preferably when the trap will not be used for a few hours.

Table 2 – dosing periods

• Shock dosing of the grease trap is an important element to start the biological process. To rapidly establish a biomass within the grease trap, dose the system with 3 or 4 days of maintenance activator to begin the process, either by pouring ACO Clear activator directly through a sink during a quiet period of the working day when there is no drainage activity or by running the dosing pump in priming mode as per the instructions supplied with the pump.

Operation during first 2 weeks

• Inspect sediment basket daily at first to establish how often the bucket needs to be emptied. If the basket fills rapidly (less than 2 weeks, for example), then it is necessary to provide additional filtration upstream of the trap.

Note: Do not connect macerators to the trap.

• Inspect the contents of the trap, increasing the dosing frequency and period if:
• solidified grease is apparent on the surface and/or near the walls of the trap.
• significant pools of oil are present on the surface
• flow is impaired at the outlet pipe. This can be established by removing the access point cap.

Ongoing operation

• Adjust dosing period and frequency for known seasonal variations – establish regular sediment basket removal regime.
• Drain, clean and inspect the trap twice annually or at more regular intervals if silt build up at the base of the trap exceeds 5cm.

Trouble Shooting

Once ongoing operation is established ACO Biological Grease Traps should provide excellent service. Should problems become apparent, check the following variables.

• MODD operation, electricity supply and programming.
• Pipelines from dosing unit.
• Load on trap in meals per day.
• Dosing period and frequency.
• Influent temperature and temperature within trap.