Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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26 | MARCH 2017 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Close-Up Insight report: Fats, Oil and Grease in association with breathing apparatus, just clearing the fat. People just don't realise the level of e ort that goes in to keeping sewers owing." Wet wells are another area where fat builds up in the network and needs extensive e ort to remove. So could bacterial dosing play a role here as well as at the point of entry? Several water companies have trialled such an approach – with varying degrees of success. One of the stumbling blocks is that there is no agreed standards for assessing the e ectiveness of di erent bacterial products, a problem which current research from UKWIR, WRc and Cran„ eld University (see box) is seeking to solve. EXPERT VIEW "You've got to stop FOG entering the system, and where that's not possible, treat it." O ne company which o ers the full range of grease management solutions – grease traps, Grease Recovery Units (GRUs) and bacterial dosing – is Cardi -based CBio Ltd. "The last year to „ Ž een months has seen a step change in focus from the water companies into this area of the industry," says James Patterson, CBio's Managing Director. "Our company is here to help Food Service Establishments comply with legislation, and to improve their cost base and brand image. Right now, the vast majority of the marketplace will pay to mechanically remove grease when it causes a blockage. That doesn't help anyone, it's expensive, it smells, and you have downtime in your business while you are sorting it out. What's worse, a lot of people when clearing a drain will use surfactants, which simply break up the FOG and allow it to reform downstream, where it can cause ooding in the sewers. "We're aligned with the water companies on this, because the only answer is to stop FOG entering the sewer network entirely, or where that's not possible, treat that FOG within the system. "The majority of kitchens either have undersized grease traps or no grease protection at all, and they have to do something about it. Unfortunately, there is no standard answer to the problem - kitchens have di erent amounts of space, create di ering levels of FOG and have di ering abilities of sta . We believe in providing the solution that best „ ts the customers' needs - whether it be GRUs, microbial dosing or a combination of options." "Whatever solution we put in, we go back with a service team every three months to ensure that it's working, to replenish uid and to service. If it's a GRU, we provide training, data, tick sheets and everything else in order for them to do a daily or weekly maintenance regime. Because the reality is that if you want this to work, you have to get the people who are on the ground to make it work." CBio's UK-wide grease management customers include McDonald's, Pizza Hut, the National Trust, Tesco and Morrisons. Cranfi eld research seeks to set bioadditives standards "Bioadditives are microbial cultures designed to biologically break down the FOGs in the drainage system," says Dr Rafaella Villa of Cranfi eld University. "Despite their proved eff ectiveness, there is currently no method to assess them. Cranfi eld is working in collaboration with seven of the major UK producers and distributors to developed a robust test protocol for microbial bioaddi- tions commonly used in food service establishments (FSE). "A synthetic FSE wastewater was designed as a medium for test- ing microbial FOGs degradation and removal. In addition, the work delivered a novel method for the quantifi cation of FOGs in detergent- rich wastewaters, such as those discharged by FSEs." The output of Dr Villa and her colleagues' work will be presented at a forthcoming conference organised by Cranfi eld and British Water on March 15th. Above le : A typical dosing system used in a kitchen. Above: A Grease Recovery Unit (GRU)