Grease Trap, Dewatering and Disposal

Published on by in Technology

The previous method of commercial kitchen grease waste disposal has now been banned by the Australian government. 

We are trying to come up with a method to trap grease waste.

We are considering using geotextile bags to dewater and store the grease waste. I personally don't believe it will work since the inside of the bags has a layer of FOG (fats, oil, grease), which prevents dewatering. Moreover, space for disposal of the bags is very limited. 

Does anyone have suggestions on how to make a grease trap and separate the grease from water?

Taxonomy

10 Answers

  2. Dear Mr.Chris Riley

    Good question for save environment,

    A grease trap, which is usually made of hard plastic, fiberglass or concrete and placed inside the kitchen or buried underground, is therefore very important when it comes to reducing the impact of our existence to the environment. When grease from foodchains, restaurants and even from residential kitchens get into the ocean unmitigated, it would have the effect similar to an oil spill and that is why water waste management system is enacted to control this effect. But without grease traps, water waste management will have a hard time controlling the influx of FOG thus, this technology is indeed our first line of defense and without it, the price that we will have to pay will be great. 

     1.A good grease trap must slow down the passing of wastewater so that the greasy waste has time to separate out. This means that it should be able to hold all the wastewater of the kitchen at the time that it is heavily used for as long as 20 minutes ( an example of this is the Watts WD-20 grease trap which has a flow rate of 20 GPM). The capacity of your grease trap should not be smaller than 55 gallons and if there are lots of fixtures that you want to attach, you should opt for a bigger one.

    2. The length of the trap should be twice its depth. You have to remember that the content of the trap usually occupies 2/3 of its total depth and the remaining 1/3 is head space. When making this measurement, the thickness of the wall should not be included.

    3. The total surface area of the trap should be between 1000 to 2000 times its total depth measured in millimeters. Again wall and cover thickness should not be included in measuring this.

    4. So that the wastewater and the greasy top layer will not mix, there has to be a baffle at the inlet of the trap which will slow down the flow of water coming in. The inlet pipe should be bent 90 degrees downwards so that incoming water will terminate below the trap.

    5. You should provide proper access to your grease trap. This means that covers should be easy to lift up during maintenance. You should provide proper signs especially if your grease trap is an under-floor type so that people will know of its locations. You should also provide indicators for liquid depth and maximum allowable grease layer. When maintenance time comes, you should put barrier around the grease trap when it is opened.

     

    https://youtu.be/BKXl5DKGiDE?t=15

     

    https://youtu.be/Kpy14I8fygk?t=10

     

     

    https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwinkaL06qHUAhVMMI8KHcroBj4QFghaMAs&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wikihow.com%2FClean-a-Grease-Trap&usg=AFQjCNHaSM7DsXBJP5tXpr1Av5Wg2AgSAQ&sig2=wk9RRXYIdVPAuJBDLT34Vw

     

     

    Regards,

    Prem Baboo

  3. The way this question has been edited is absolutely ridiculous. It was pending approval by this site and they have totally misrepresented they question. 

    It is NOT the Australian government and I DO NOT want to know how to make a grease trap . 

    All I wanted to know is if there is any alternative methods to deal with and dewater grease trap waste . The method of trucking it away for disposal has been refused by the government of the country I currently work in , and management are forcing the issue now of just storing it in some hope of another method. In my experience, it has always been truck d away and disposed of by methods I don't know about. 

     

    1 Comment

    1. Hi Chris, thanks for clarifying. Sorry to hear about the editing of your question. 

      Yes, I agree from experience, normally it is collected and trucked away either to landfill or a wastewater treatment plant. It would be helpful to know why disposal is not allowed because it does need to be disposed of eventually. 

      What is the ratio of liquid to solids? If is 50% or greater, I can suggest looking into a membrane bioreactor process. This will reduce your grease content by bacterial digestion. There will be sludge build up and eventual disposal but the volume and frequency will be greatly reduced.

      If you email me at andrew@waterandoilsolutions.com.au, I can provide you with more details.

  4. Hi Chris, 

    What is the disposal method which has been banned? My suggestion would be to use a properly sized grease trap and use biological dosing to maintain the trap. The trap will require periodic pumpouts and possible disposal routes would be anaerobic digestion or biodiesel production.

    2 Comments

    1. Bonjour Ce post ne veut rien dire. Comment dimensionner un piège à graisse? sur quel critère?

      L'utilisation un dosage -biologique-.  En quoi consiste un dosage -biologique-?  Biologique de quoi? Il ne peut pas  y avoir une action -biologqiue- sur une matière sans savoir au pralable si cette matière est -biologique- totalement. Il faut pouvoir expliquer comment on fait une action par dosage -biologique- ? 

      Idem pour l'action anaérobie? en quoi cela consiste ? comment une matière organique, théoriquement aérobie,  peut-elle subir une action anaérobie? quel est le processus? comment se met-il en place? comment fait-on pour évaluer sa performance d'action? quelle est le processus de travail de cette action aanérobie?

      Ok pour la production alternative, mais encore faut-il évaluer son coût en rapport du bénéfice retiré?   

       

      Hello this post means nothing. How to size a grease trap? on what criteria?

      Use a - biological-dosage  What is a dosage - biological-?  Biological what? It cannot be - biologqiue - action on a matter without knowing the prerequisite if this material - biological-completely. He should be able to explain how to do one action per dosage - biological -? 

      Ditto for the anaerobic action? What is it? How can a theoretically aerobic, organic material undergo anaerobic action? What is the process? How is it taking place? How do you evaluate the performance of action? What is the working process of this action aanerobie?

      But must OK for the alternative production, assess its cost removed income report?   

        

    2. Due to politics , this country that I work in removed from the grease trap and disposed of it at the local refuse tip ! I am not surprised of the refusal. Storage is the most likely option at this stage , then probably shipping in back to Australia to be disposed of. Expensive exercise , but I am not paying for it ! It's a political thing ! Any ideas as opposed to storage and shipping out of country would be great 

      2 Comment replies

      1. There are residents near by in this camp. I would imagine when you say biogas , you are talking about the common commercial kitchen grease trap trade Waste smell. This will definitely be an issue. We are just a camp facility , no means to harvest biogas/bio fuel. Company has no alternative plan in place , now clutching at straws. I am a plumber by trade and trade in WTP/WWTP , but I have never had to deal with trade waste. Generally a contractor removes it , I continue to clean on grease traps and operate my plants 

      2. If there are any anaerobic digesters available this material could be added to the existing feed and it will boost biogas production. Alternatively it could be used for biodiesel production. It would require some cleanup.

  5. Enclosed part of a document which has several examples. There are very good and cheap techniques in the Permaculture field, all depends on scope, means and availability or not of some materials. See p. 7+10. Hope this helps.

    1 Comment

    1. Gray water treatment does not address FOG removal. Proper grease trap design and maintenance is required.

      1 Comment reply

      1. Ignore how this site has presented this question after approval. 

        I work in a politically sensitive area. The method for removing grease trap waste was straight to the dump and burn it . The government here have refused it and rightly so . Now , this company I work for has no plan , so they want to store it and possibly ship it back to Australia. Expensive but not from my pocket. My question is , is there any other form of treatment. We will have 2 holding cells to which we can conduct either storage& treatment or just storage. Poly tanks or geotextile bags. I have heard of some sort of enzyme , that's about it. 

  6. Greetings Chris:

    We are based just outside of Melbourne. For over 20 years now we have very successfully  got rid of Fats, Oils and Grease from grease traps. We have a couple of great testimonials from large companies on that matter. Our method is extremely simple....we ad our Solutek solution aboujt once a month and the problem goes  together with any bad smells. The solving of your problem is really very easy. We can arrange a free sample trial.

    Give us a call on 03 - 5234 5236   OR  Email: pettman@soleco-technology.com                                      see - www.soleco-technology.com

    Stay safe,

    Hugh.

    1 Comment

    1. Thanks Hugh. The question has been edited by this site and was not what I originally wrote. However , on your point , the addition of this chemical or solution , what happens to the FOG. Is it to be added while the waste is still in the grease trap just before removal ? After it has done its magic , is the Waste able to be processed by Activated sludge ?

  7.  Hello Chris:  Everyone is finally on the right path of how to clean nature.  Microbes.  Some use bacterial groups and some fungal groups.  These type of technologies do work to an extent. But one item they all have in common.  They reduce the waste, reduce cleaning frequency, reduce particles released back into the forest or rivers.  The reason for their "reduced" capabilities is they are all DNA based life forms. They simply do not have the genetic code for reducing the waste down into their elemental/nutrient form.  All pathogens and toxic compounds are eliminated as well.  Instead of Dumping the remainder you may use it for irrigation, potable water supply, bio film screening to save nutrients and apply to your garden, lawn or public parks requiring a nutrient dense substance.   There is only one RNA microbial group. Archaea.  Used in 90% of countries in the world.

    1 Comment

    1. Mr. McGowen, please, please, please, read a book on microbiology or consult a faculty member of a reputable college or university.  Viruses are the only group that (some) uses RNA as it's primary nucleic acid and all organisms use DNA as the template for metabolic functions. 

  8. Bonjour En assainissement Biologique nous épurons toutes les eaux usées regroupées. nous n'avons aucune problématique concernant la graisse qui s'élimine très bien.

    La graisse est une très bonne matière organique qui s'élimine rapidement sans aucun résidus.

    Bien entendu il faut qu'au départ ses caractéristiques -biologique- soient préservées, sinon la graisse se transforme en boue pa rla putréfaction.

    Hello in biological remediation we treat wastewater grouped. We have no problem about the fat that goes away very well.

    Fat is a very good organic matter which is eliminated quickly without any residues.

    Of course it takes that initially - biological - characteristics are preserved, otherwise fat turns into mud pa rla putrefaction.

  9. Dear Chris,

    I recommend to have Microorganisms which breakdown the FOG into dissolved form and keep it miscible into liquid. This also able it to keep the drains and lines clean from clogging due to FOG. 

     

    Biofuture from Ireland is one the supplier you should contact, their Product from Grease Traps for Kitchen is attached for you. Also Best Management Practice is attached for Commercial Kitchens. 

     

    You can contact Mr Ciaran Gillin for further details and references.

    cgillen@biofuture.ie 

     

    Ciaran Gillen

    BioFuture Ltd.

    62C Heather Road,

    Sandyford Business Estate,

    Foxrock,

    Dublin 18,

    Ireland.

    Phone: +353-1-2149749.

    Fax: +353-1-2149767.

    E-mail: cgillen@biofuture.ie

    Web: www.biofuture.ie

    Skype: ciaran.gillen

    1 Comment

    1. Bonjour 

      la graisse ne doit pas être séparée du reste de l'effluent car elle sert de support aux micros organismes de biodégradation et favorise pleinement leur pérennité.

      Les bacs à graisse en piegeant cette matière organique détruisent toutes les caractéristiques -biologique-. Il ne pourra pas y avoir d'épuration -biologique- effectuée par les micros organismes morts.

       

      Hello fat must not be separated from the rest of the effluent because it serves as support to micro organisms of biodegradation and fully promotes sustainability.

      Piegeant fat stores this organic matter destroy all - organic-features May not be performed by the microphones dead organisms - biological - treatment.

       

  10. This is similar to oil water separator in oil&gas industries. I would rather collect the waste water in a tank fitted with tpi pack and heat up to 60 deg. C for allowing grease to be in fluid state. The oily layer can be removed by phase separation and remaining water can be disposed off. Depending on local regulations, secondary treatment may or may not be required.

    1 Comment