Frequently Asked Questions
Grease Guarde is comprised of unique hand-picked individuals; each with his/her
own background of education, skills, and experience. Combining these talents of
engineering, biological, computer and environmental sciences along with the environmentally
ethical guidelines mandated within the company helps to form a highly effective
solution-forming team known as Grease Guarde. Another element which loans uniqueness
to the Grease Guarde platform is the product line to which they adhere.
Maintaining
a strong environmental focus in conjunction with only the most proven effectiveness,
Grease Guarde's product line stands alone as one which can be trusted for the environment
and by the customer. In application and in product Grease Guarde's programs are
unique, effective and always environmentally focused.
Through proven products and
experienced individuals, there are no challenges against the FOG war that Grease
Guarde hasn’t mastered.
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Everywhere. The battlefield spans form the drain covers and screens at the
point of entry to the discharge from a wastewater treatment plant. All locations
can be candidates for enhancement or treatment in some way or another. Grease recycling
programs, grease traps, lift station and collection system treatment… all of these
are effective FOG-fighting points. Hiring a team of experts to determine the
most vital locale(s) for attention is step one in getting your troops onto the battlefield.
We at Grease Guarde know from many years of experience that with the proper attention
and treatment, FOG can be virtually eliminated from any system. So from kitchen
practices down to a healthy and balanced biomass in the treatment plant, the points
of attack against FOG are many in prospect.
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Even when grease is softened, emulsified or melted with chemicals or hot water,
it will flow downstream and harden again in sewer lines. Even with the use
of expensive “enzyme treatment,” grease molecules will mostly break apart only long
enough to get some limited distance downstream before the molecules re-form into
line-clogging grease. Thousands of dollars per year are spent in maintenance
fees to clean collection systems and lines and many acres are wasted to landfill
the greasy waste. Bacteria which are specifically made to devour vegetable
and animal oils are most effective in denaturing grease molecules so that re-formation
downstream is unable to occur.
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Activated sludge is a mass of microorganisms that digest organic material in wastewater.
The microorganisms clean the wastewater by digesting organic materials and other
contaminants. There are many types of microorganisms in any given plant; some
naturally occurring and some, shipped in from other plants or microbe-producers.
The balance of “good” microbes v/s “bad” microbes is often a challenging task to
the plant operators and seasonal changes affect the environment that the microbes
live in, enhancing the challenge.
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It is the addition of certain strains of bacteria to a treatment system in order
to enhance the performance of the system. Biotreatment can be a very effective
cost-saving tool when the right bacteria are added for specific purposes.
Sometimes strains which are already present are “boosted” so that nutrient competition
between beneficial and non-beneficial bacteria becomes more balanced toward the
good. This is usually accomplished by the addition of laboratory-enriched
strains of bacteria in a certain dose over time. In other cases, biotreatment
is used to introduce strains of bacteria that aren’t present in the indigenous biomass.
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Grease is one of the primary causes of clogs in lines from its source all the way
to where it is eventually treated at the wastewater treatment plant. It accumulates
over time, narrowing the opening through pipes and causing blockage and hindered
flow. At the wastewater treatment plant, grease increases odors, may cause
upsets to a healthy biomass and can elevate dewatering costs significantly.
In general, more grease leads to more clogs, more odors and higher maintenance/treatment
costs. Getting rid of oil and grease near its source has proved to be the
most cost-effective approach in controlling the matter. Grease Guarde specializes
in identifying those sources and offering effective low-cost or no-cost solutions
to the menace.
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Pretreatment is the removal of waste/pollutants or the enhancement of a discharge
water prior to another process. This may include filtration, precipitation,
chemical or biological treatment and can be applied to production waste, storm runoff
ponds, grease traps/interceptors, even some grouped residential institutions.
Virtually anything that leads to the collection system and eventually to the local
wastewater treatment plant is eligible for one or many forms of pretreatment.
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No, but most industries and processing plants could benefit more from biological
applications as a primary treatment or even enhance their current system with a
biological (supplemental) application. The factors governing this include
pH, temperature, potential contact time, loading, as well as the equipment footprint
restraints involved within the plant grounds. Though biological pretreatment
can be applied to most any entity which loads into a collection system, a determination
of several factors must be taken into account for the right (effective) solution
to be applied.
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No. Some local laws and regulation do not discriminate between harmful pass-through
causing additives and effective biologically induced programs. In playing
it safe, this renders all of the grease traps in that area “un-treatable” and frequent
pumping becomes the only option. Another factor which attributes to pretreatment
candidacy is “Treatability.” Contrary to popular belief, a grease trap is less of
a grease-holding box and more of a biologically active grease reduction chamber.
Though most of these chambers are incorrectly designed or sized for natural grease
reduction, most are capable of proper function through a professionally applied
biological treatment program. Still, the design and loading factors must meet
the certain requirements for any such pretreatment program to be successful.
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Residential FOG elimination has often been referred to as the “Holy Grail” of the
anti-FOG campaign. The primary factor comes down to “whose responsibility
is it?” Penalizing and surcharging residents directly for FOG control is unheard
of most everywhere. Taxes primarily cover the situation but advances are being
made to reduce the amount of taxpayer’s money spent on the problem. Grease
Guarde provides plans and consulting for effective recycling programs and we have
several pilot studies in place regarding grouped-housing treatment options.
These remedies include the reduction of the amount of land from our environment
which is used for landfilling greasy waste and a reduction of traffic congestion
and safety risks related to typical pumping and maintenance efforts. Though
there are many plans and programs designed for specific scenarios, one of the most
effective deterrents at this time is education. If you would like to begin
an anti-FOG education program in your area, please feel free to contact Grease Guarde
for assistance.
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