Grease traps — what are they for and how can an enzymatic cleaner help?

An enzymatic cleaner can play a major role in grease traps maintenance. Fats and oils agglomerate to form intractable blockages in the sewage system, and breaking them down in the sewage plant is a drawn-out process, which is why restaurants, hotels, canteens and food stalls are obligated to channel their wastewater through a grease trap. This isolates oils and fats from the wastewater so they can be disposed of separately.

The London sewage system is illustrative of what can occur when grease traps are not properly installed or operated. The kitchens there not only do a lot of deep frying, they also frequently dispose of the oil in the drain. Which is why we so often hear alarming reports of spectacularly large fatbergs that require a lot of effort to remove.

Grease traps — how they work

A grease interceptor, or grease trap, utilises the physical principle behind the buoyancy of fat.  Generally, a grease trap consists of a tank with a drain pipe that extends vertically into the tank slightly below water level. Whereas water can drain off unhindered, fat and oil accumulate in the top section. There, the accumulated fat must be suctioned off and disposed of at regular intervals.

It goes without saying that food leftovers mix with the fat in grease traps, creating a mixture that foments and starts to stink dreadfully. This makes the prescribed emptying of grease traps not only a costly, but also a thoroughly unpleasant affair. The moment a grease trap is opened, large volumes of foul-smelling gases escape. Any method, including natural enzyme cleaning products, that reduces the number of times a grease trap must be emptied is therefore more than welcome.

Grease traps — instead of emptying them, biodegrade their contents using an enzymatic cleaner

As an enzymatic cleaner i.e. one of bacteria and enzyme based cleaning products, Sanosil Prolibac represents a real alternative to emptying grease traps. Instead of pumping out the fat, Sanosil Prolibac uses a mixture of enzymes and “fat-eating” bacteria. When a grease trap is treated with Prolibac enzyme cleaner on a regular basis, the entire layer of fat is liquefied, degraded and oxidised. The bacteria even multiply, and it is possible to maintain a stable degradative reaction which also degrades new fat as it arrives in the grease trap.

What are enzymes and enzymatic cleaners?

Enzymes are proteins which catalyse and maintain biochemical reactions without themselves being consumed. They have a very simple structure and are involved in nearly all biological synthesis and degradation. Prolibac primarily contains fat-digesting enzymes (lipase), which liquefy solid fat and oil into fatty acids and glycerides, making them consumable for bacteria. Enzymatic liquefaction expands the surface of the fats, massively accelerating their degradation. This process is not the same as enzymatic degreasing, in which fat is merely liquefied and emulgated in water.

Enzymes: degrading and liquefying organic material in sewage systems

Enzymes are not only well-suited to treating grease traps, they also have other applications in sewage treatment. The enzymatic cleaner Prolifoss, for example, is used to enzymatically and biologically unclog drains and prevent odour due to rotting solids in waste traps.

The chemical alternatives also used for this purpose are usually highly aggressive and eventually destroy the drains and pipes, unlike an enzymatic drain cleaner.

In contrast, the enzyme cleaner Multienzym uses the natural and material-friendly action of a range of enzymes, such as lipases, proteases, cellulases and amylases, to break down clogged deposits, leftovers, organic substances and layers of slime. This makes it possible for enzyme products for cleaning to unblock and maintain drainage systems in a way that is natural and easy on materials. Drains that see this sort of care with an enzyme based drain cleaner not only function without problems, but also remain odourless.

Septic tank enzyme products used to degrade faecal matter in septic tanks

Another particularly effective use of enzymes in sewage treatment is the enzymatic liquefaction of organic substances in sewage pipes and septic tanks with an enzymatic cleaner. While today most buildings are connected to the sewage system, the same cannot always be said of remote holiday homes, hunting lodges, Alpine huts and the like. Instead, they usually come equipped with a septic tank, and newer structures now have their own package treatment plants.

These septic tanks are able to separate solids and liquids, but still need to be emptied and pumped off periodically. Sanosil Prolifoss, an enzyme for septic tank, utilises a mixture of enzymes and bacteria to liquefy and degrade faecal matter, paper, leftovers and other organic matter. In the optimal case, it will turn a conventional septic tank into a simple one-step cesspit without requiring modifications. The faecal and organic matter is degraded and fully mineralised. As a result, mechanical emptying will either become a much rarer event or no longer be necessary at all.

In package treatment plants, Prolifoss prevents the occurrence of bulking sludge, emulsifies the content and reactivates/optimises the microbial flora. Adding the bacterial and enzymatic supplement Prolifoss significantly increases the effectiveness of package treatment plants, providing for an excellent septic tank enzyme treatment.