FOG Control Additive Field Testing Evaluations Orange County Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Control Study Phase II

Twelve Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) control additive products were field tested over a 6 month period to determine if they can effectively assist in the control of private and public sewer line grease blockages, replace or reduce the requirement for costly sewer line cleaning, reduce the need for FOG disposal, and/or provide an alternative to conventional grease interceptors at some Food Service Establishments (FSEs) that cannot install a conventional grease interceptor. Products were tested in the sewer collection system (Sewer Line-applied) and at FSEs (FSE-applied). The Study was conducted under closely monitored conditions utilizing closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Bench top testing was also conducted to evaluate the potential emulsification properties of the products and whether they might be toxic to biological treatment processes at the municipal treatment plants. The Sewer Line-applied additive evaluations were unique because they directly compared treated and untreated sewer line segments in the same sewer line Hot Spot.Based on the results of the Sewer Line-applied evaluations, the Sewer Line-applied additives do not appear to be comparable to effective line cleaning based on the CCTV images of cleaned sewer pipe compared to the CCTV images after 4 to 6 months utilization of the additive. The Study determined that improving line cleaning practices through the use of post-cleaning CCTV monitoring alone will typically reduce line cleaning frequencies. Therefore, improving line cleaning practices through the use of post-cleaning CCTV monitoring appears to be a more logical focus for sewering agencies until Sewer Line-applied additives are shown to be more effective. There were encouraging results in four of the five FSE-applied evaluations which may provide some evidence that FSE-applied additives could be considered as an alternative to the requirement to install a grease interceptor at FSEs that cannot install a grease interceptor. However, kitchen best management practices (BMPs) were also newly implemented at the four evaluations that provided encouraging results; therefore, it is EEC's opinion that further Study of FSE-applied additives should be conducted evaluating the effectiveness of the additive after improved kitchen BMPs have already been implemented.