The food and dairy industries face a waste stream of fatty organic materials from animals and vegetables that is not easily disposed of. Collectively called fats, oils and grease (FOG), this effluent is the result of food preparation activities and comes under careful scrutiny from municipalities due to its tendency to cause serious pipe and sewer blockages. Because of the serious cost penalties employed by many local governments and regulatory agencies, professionals in the food and dairy industry are eager for a technological solution that will help them effectively reduce the amount of FOG contamination in their outgoing waste streams.
Why is FOG a problem?
FOG does not mix with water, and when wastes that contain FOG are disposed of in a standard sewer without treatment, the fatty FOG portion of the waste stream can float to the surface and solidify, causing clogging. The improper disposal of FOG waste causes harm to the environment and taxpayers. Pipes that are clogged with FOG can overflow and allow hazardous liquid waste to flow into the environment with no regulation. Then, taxpayer money must be used for repair and replacement of the clogged pipe. A large number of FOG-related pipe repairs in a community can also result in an increase in local monthly water rates.
FOG is a major issue across the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies FOG as the most common source of sewer overflows and estimates that FOG-related issues cause between 5,000 and 17,000 overflows per year. [1] Because the high frequency of clogging, city regulations now set strict FOG discharge levels for municipal sewers and high-cost penalties for those unable to meet discharge requirements. These penalties can add up quickly for food and dairy operations and bleed millions of dollars from company revenue each year, causing many in the food industry to implement waste treatment technologies.
Methods of managing FOG
The most popular methods of managing FOG contamination are not economically optimized and leave much to be desired in the way of on-site waste treatment. Traditional grease interceptors effectively trap FOG for manual removal, but they are high-maintenance and require operators to schedule frequent grease trap cleanings. Other frequently used FOG removal processes rely on filters or membranes. While these systems also effectively remove fatty contaminants from wastewater streams, they are easily clogged if fed high concentrations of FOG and are unsuitable for large food and dairy operations. Because technologies like grease interceptors, filters and membranes require frequent maintenance, they are associated with high on-site operational costs and are not a viable solution for today’s expansive food and dairy industry. With reliability and efficiency assurance posing key pain points, many companies are motivated to pursue new, more efficient wastewater technologies that offer promise for effective FOG removal.
