New System Provides FOG Pretreatment for Sewer Systems

Historically, jurisdictions encouraged or allowed storage devices such as grease traps or interceptors to separate and retain fats, oils and grease (FOG) from wastewater only to find that they were not being maintained. The results ranged from clogged sewer pipes and drainfields to sewage spills and overflows on city streets and roadways and increased loading to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW).

To address this problem, proactive municipalities across the country are implementing grease control ordinances as part of Sewerage System Management, Operation and Maintenance Programs. The goal of these programs is to prevent FOG from entering the sewerage system.

Remediator® Grease Treatment System from Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.

The Remediator® Grease Treatment System from Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co. was designed and developed to address this need. It works as a bioreactor engineered to separate and retain FOG from a live discharge stream. The system can be installed as an appliance at the source — restaurants and similar sources of FOG — to prevent onsite drain blockage and reduce downstream accumulation.

The Remediator works like a treatment facility, eradicating the FOG at the source before it can be discharged. The difference is actual pretreatment versus storage and disposal.

The system's design combines onsite pretreatment with the biochemical disassembly of the FOG molecules, leaving no material requiring storage or disposal. Bacteria first break the bond between the glycerol and fatty acids and then break the bonds in the fatty acids chains by a process called beta-oxidation. This process continues until carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms are released in the forms of carbon dioxide and water. The unit consists of no moving parts and is designed to require removal of non-grease material only once or twice a year.

The Remediator is a fixed film system. "Fixed film" refers to a biofilm consisting of microbes attached to a structure (media) designed to maximize pollutant/microbe contact - a common application in wastewater treatment plants.

The influent enters the solids interceptor through a flow control device that assures a proper rate of flow as well as oxygen introduction. The flow passes through the media where separation is effected by conventional gravitation and vortex induced coalescence. The media is engineered to create vortices which cause less dense materials (FOG) to rise along the vertical surfaces of the media where they come in contact with the micro-organisms inhabiting the biofilm. The drainage continues to the clarifier chamber and is channeled to the outlet where it can be piped to the sanitary sewer system.

The Remediator system has been tested for separation and retention in accordance with PDI G-101. It has also been tested for construction and effluent quality and is listed with IAPMO - File 3782 and NES - PCR GI 101.012. Additionally, several local code authorities across the country have approved the system for point of source use. It routinely produces effluent FOG quantities in the 20 to 30 mg/l range at 20 to 75 gpm rates without requiring periodic cleaning or pumping.