GreenFlash Technologies Wastewater Treatment
Technical Overview
Background
GreenFlash Technologies (GFT) provides and distributes wastewater products that are
bio-degradable and harmless to human, animal, plant and marine life. There are never
toxic residuals from any GFT product. All microbials used in GFT products occur naturally in
nature and are neither genetically altered nor engineered. The byproduct of GFT product
bio-metabolism is water and trace amounts of carbon dioxide.
Wastewater Remediation
GFT products consist of variable species of different microbes working together to get the
job done. For example, a molecule of grease will consist of multiple compounds, including
fatty acids and glycerol. In addition, there are many compounds present in sewer effluent
that are hostile to microbial metabolism. A single strain of bacteria cannot break the grease
down nor can the grease remediating bio-complex metabolize the grease if they do not have
a supporting cast of characters that buffer microbe-hostile chemicals and toxins. When the
right team of bacteria goes to work, each consuming a different substrate (food source) and
the harmful substances in the effluent are sufficiently buffered, the compound is quickly
consumed. The bacteria secrete enzymes that break down the grease into its component
compounds, which are then individually consumed by the bacteria, leaving only water and
traces of carbon dioxide
Lift Station Remediation
In a municipal sewer and lift station environment that is contaminated by fats, oils and
grease (FOG), GFT’s MuniFOG-425TM, FOGBloc-428TM and MuniNP-429TM together
provide a complete solution to the problems of blockage, odor and increased BOD to the
municipal wastewater processing plant. The effluent in municipal sewer systems is highly
complex. It contains a wide variety of substances, both organic and inorganic, pathogenic
and harmless, and both toxic and environmentally safe. GFT’s multi-microbe products
handle all of these substances with the right remediation formulae for the task. Lift stations
and “wet wells” are generally steel containers that are in a constantly corrosive environment
from the multiple contaminants inherent in a typical sewer atmosphere. Grease from
various food particles is a particularly challenging complex that cause buildup and slug
loadings reducing the sewers and lift station flow capacity.
Sewer and pipe capacity is often adversely affected by excess FOG elements in the system.
These cause odors and blockages in the pipes and hinder wastewater treatment.
Additionally, FOG can require excess cleaning and premature pipe replacement. Buildup of
grease in the sewer system can also cause dangerous increases in sewer and lift-station
gases. These gases, which usually are initiated in the anaerobic FOG environment, have the
possibility of both creating dangerous conditions for personnel and raising the prospect of
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underground explosions. Elimination of the root causes of the FOG is the best protection
against these possible scenarios. Continuous treatment of the sewer and lift station
environments with products employing both aerobic and anaerobic microbes to eliminate the
FOG components are the best defense for the sewer system.
The MuniFOG-425TM / FOGBloC-428TM bio-complex works equally well in low oxygen,
facultative and aerobic degradation environments. Indigenous bacteria are present
everywhere in the world, in the air, in the lakes and oceans, in the soil and are nature’s
recyclers. They clean up the environment and keep it clean. The problem occurs when
there are too many organic contaminants in an environment for the indigenous bacteria to
consume (degrade). This is what occurs in wastewater systems when the volume of organic
waste far overwhelms the number and types of indigenous waste degrading bacteria
available in the sewer. That’s where GFT’s unique product design comes into play. Working
with the indigenous bacteria already present in the wastewater system, the GFT product
biocultures provide the proper types of selectively adapted microbials in sufficient numbers
to biodegrade the organics and keep the wastewater system functioning properly.
Sewer Control Process
When placed in the sewer, MuniFOG-425TM bacteria build a biological “slime” on the pipe
wall. The slime is the same thing you get on the media of a trickling filter in a sewer
treatment plant. It can also be compared to the slime on a stone picked up in a creek. The
bacteria will make the pipe wall too slippery for grease to attach to. In addition, these bugs
“eat” the grease they come in contact with. As long as they have water, oxygen and a food
source, these microbials multiply every 20 minutes. In other words, they continue to
multiply in the sewer, forming every new and hungry “offspring” to keep eating away at the
grease and other targeted organic contaminants.
Sewer grease is at the bottom of their food chain. Its environment contains all varieties of
noxious chemicals, soaps, petroleum byproducts, cellulose and toxic compounds. There is
no bacterium that prefers sewer grease. Most bacteria would rather eat carbohydrates
(sugars, starches and celluloses) first. Next they will choose protein. After all that is gone,
there will work on the fats and grease that are easiest to break down. These are the
greases and oil from restaurants – high quality grease from cooked food.
Many strains of bacteria will not eat sewer grease under any circumstances. They simply
die off if other nutrients are not available. The only effective sewage treatment formula is
one that will eat sewer grease after all other food sources are gone. Thus an effective
sewer formula requires a carefully selected mix of microbes. GFT sewer products contain
bio-complexes of microbial strains that consume sewer grease. Used as directed,
MuniFOG-425TM and FOGBLOC-428TM will work every time.
Bacterial colonization of GFT bio-complex products requires the presence of suitable organic
carbon, and of inorganically or organically bound nitrogen and phosphate. Bacteria use
organic material for growth. They obtain it from dissolved organic substances in the
effluent or from the particles to which they attach themselves. Bacteria also need nitrogen
and phosphate for growth. They extract this from the organic material on which they grow.
Bacterial growth (colonization) is limited by the supply of organic material. If this limitation
is removed by the addition of organic material nitrogen and phosphate, growth will be
stimulated. During bacterial growth, part of the organic food is used as energy and, as part
of the metabolic process, is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. GFT’s MuniNP-
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429TM provides buffered sources of nitrogen and phosphate to stimulate the microbes’
colonization and assure that they have a continuous energy source for their growth.
The MuniFOG-425TM formula contain additional bacterial strains which will colonize in low
oxygen facultative degradation environments, compounds for degradation of FOG
compounds, detergents and surfactants, strains for degradation of phenolic and other
aromatic compounds, cellulosic waste degraders, hydrocarbon and wax degraders, sulfide
and noxious odor reduction and the breakdown of starches, sugars and other
carbohydrates. Any material other than the above will not be affected by the bio-complex
products and will remain after treatment. FOGBloc-428TM, which contains many of the
same components, adds the benefit of long-lasting treatment, as the bloc slowly dissolves in
the high-flow rate sewer/lift-station environments.
Grease Interceptors
Commercial buildings such as restaurants, hotel kitchens and bars, factory cafeterias and
restaurants, clubs, processing plants and the like must have a grease interceptor or trap to
accumulate grease that might otherwise clog the waste lines. When required, a separate
waste line is installed to serve pot, scullery, food scrap and vegetable preparation sinks.
Floor drains that may receive kitchen waste spillage and floor drains that may receive waste
from individual fixtures, appliances or other apparatus must go through an approved grease
interceptor.
Grease interceptors (aka, traps) are designed to separate solids and liquids. Effluent enters
the trap by the inflow pipe from the kitchen or area where grease originates. Heavy solid
waste sinks to the bottom while grease and other lighter wastes float on top. Larger
interceptors are multi-chamber where only the last chamber empties into the sewer system
Baffles in the grease trap hold the lighter waste for easy cleaning. The remaining separated
liquid flows out the outflow pipe into the sewer system. Grease traps come in different sizes
and shapes. The size is based on the gallon capacity the grease trap can hold. The larger
the trap capacity, the more retention time grease trap effluent will have in the trap and the
more time the bacteria in the trap will have to degrade the grease, oil and suspended solids
in the effluent.
The GreenFlash Technologies Grease Remediation Process consists of four products,
DrainSaver-423™, FOGX-427TM, FogBloc-428TM, and MuniNP-429TM. These products
are used together to treat the grease trap and drains leading to the trap. While not all
installations may need all of the products, most larger institutions will normally benefit from
each of the products. FogBloc-428TM and MuniNP-429TM operate the same way as in the
sewer or lift-station, providing time-released bacteria into the grease trap and adding the
nutrients needed to enhance the remediation process. The amount of each required will be
substantially less. The main constituents of these products are microbial bio-complexes
(principally natural bacteria); enzymes to enhance the biological reactions plus surfactants to
aid the cleansing process and maintain the bioremediation action. Multiple microbials are
employed to address all of the potential grease and fat contaminants in the trap. The
products are formulated to rapidly bio-degrade grease, oils and organic solids in grease
traps and significantly deodorize the effluent within the traps and drains leading to the traps.
The grease and fat contaminants are totally eliminated and cannot re-form in the trap or in
the sewer system.
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Once FOGX-427™ is applied to a grease trap, under normal circumstances, it should
seldom have to be pumped, usually only to remove non-biodegradable trash from the trap
such as plastic, metal objects, glassware, rags, bones, etc. Once applied, FOGX-427™ will
immediately start to grow colonies of bacteria on the walls, baffles, and the top and bottom
of the grease trap. Colonies will also start to grow on the grease crust itself. One of the
principal advantages of treatment with FOGX-427™ is that it will clean the entire grease
trap. The average grease trap will require about 2 - 4 weeks to bring "under control"
depending on trap capacity and volume into the trap.
DrainSaver-423™ adds the dimension of cleaning the drains leading to the trap, particularly
those that handle most of the grease. Putting a couple of ounces of DrainSaver-423™ into
each drain will keep the drains running feely and help alleviate odors emanating from
decaying grease molecules remaining in the drains.
There should always be some grease floating on top of the water in a grease trap. This is
the grease recently drained into the trap that the bacteria have not had a chance to digest.
The grease crust will usually stay about 1 to 3 inches thick. This is expected and required
for normal operation of the trap. Together, the GFT Grease Remediation Process will
provide a total grease trap solution for the restaurant, dormitory, market or any other eating
or food preparation establishment. Continuous treatment with these products will provide
the assurance that odors will be eliminated from the traps and drains, and that the FOG
elements entering the trap will not be transferred to the municipal sewer and left-station
environment.
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