It is possible that you have never heard about the grease traps, but they’re quite common. Because of this, it won’t be too hard for us to explain and for you to understand what they are. For one, they’re like NFL cornerbacks. It’s their job to intercept, but not the QB’s pass, but the grease. We’re sure you’ll appreciate our football analogy. In most cases, they’re used inside kitchens, and their job is to intercept the fat from the water before it reaches the sewer. This process is fundamental as sewers do not appreciate being poisoned by grease.
What we’re talking about is the end products of the water that comes through the sewer. Most water that comes through the system heads to a treatment plant. They handle many things that can be found in wastewater, but grease isn’t one of them. All of you who are reading this probably ate bacon at least once in your life. If you didn’t, let us tell you that once the bacon is taken out of the pan, it leaves grease, which solidifies in a matter of minutes at room temperature. The same thing happens when it reaches the sewer pipes; it gets solid there. When this occurs in a sewer pipe, it gets clogged, and these blockages sometimes require a severe reaction from authorities, as overflowing of the sewer is not a light issue. In fact, it is a health issue that requires professional handling, and taxpayers need to pay for it.
Because of issues as these, city authorities ask restaurants and other places that deal in food preparations to have grease traps installed. For any minor or significant restaurant having a grease interceptor is a must. Intercepting grease and preventing it from reaching the sewer is common sense. You can easily make life complicated for too many people at once, all of whom require a sewer system to function properly. The best part is that it is also designed to save money for businesses that use it. All that it needs to function properly is the long internal plumbing. Most massive establishments, such as hospitals, malls, or restaurants, have this type of installations. Also, they’re all in danger of substantial plumbing issues, as pipe blockage can happen to anyone. If a blockage occurs inside a colossal mall, it can put out of business all stores regardless of who caused the jam.
By now, you got the impression of what a grease trap is, as we did an excellent job in explaining it in detail. What is left is to talk about is how does a grease trap work. If this is the part you came for, worry not; it is right below. All in all, we hope you’re enjoying our article and are appreciating our effort while we try to give you an answer to the question you asked. Now, let see further what is a resin grease trap, and how does it work – 2024 guide.
How Does a Grease Trap Work?
Its modus operandi is quite simple if you know fundamental physics and chemistry. If you didn’t know, animal fats and vegetable oils are relatively lighter than water. If we’re looking at percentages, they’re 10 to 15 percent less dense. What this means is that animal fats and vegetable oils do not mix with water when combined. When it happens, the water will remain below while grease will float above. Grease trap works on this assumption, which was proven right numerous times through simple experiments.
The magic happens when wastewater enters the grease trap. What happens inside is the slowing of the flow rate, which allows for the wastewater to cool down. Once it reaches the optimal temperature, it’s going to get separated into three layers. The top layer will always be the grease, as the system is intended to have it up inside the interceptor, where it’s going to be trapped by the baffle system. The layer in the bottom end is reserved for solids. Once the two parts, grease, and solids, are separated, all that is left is the water, which is left to pass through the outlet baffle. If you decide so, you can have strainers installed, which are used to collect concrete debris. With this feature, the amount of trash deposited at the bottom end of the trap will reduce.
If you are forgetful about the grease trap, you can encounter various issues. The most common one is the build-up of solids and grease. When this happens, they are able to escape through the outlet. What’s even worse, they can push their way back to the inlet. You do not want this to happen, as it is quite troublesome to clean it this way. What you need to do is to be accurate in your maintenance schedule. The best course to take is to clean the grease trap on a regular basis.
The accumulated grease and solids need to be pumped out every once in a while, depending on the amount of substance going through it. If the wastewater is circulating through it frequently, the maintenance needs to be done every two to four weeks. If you want to prolong this period, it can be done if you decide to use any type of biological grease treatment fluid. You can make this substance a piece of the system in order to make life easier for yourself. This is a recommended course of action. This fluid is a combination of non-pathogenic bacteria and various nutrients and enzymes, which does a fantastic job of breaking down the grease elements. The name of this procedure is professionally called dosing.
Conclusion
After reading this article, we are sure that if you require a grease interceptor, you must be wondering where you can find out more about it and where to get one if the need arises. If this is the case, we won’t leave you hanging as our friends from ilmap.com can provide you with further assistance on this matter.