Grease Trap Odor

[spatzENGR]

Does anyone have any referenaces or informaiton about odor problems in terms of grease traps?

Here's the problem:

We have a client, a retirement home that installed a grease trap from Monarch Products Company Inc., which we specified. Conventionally, only kitchen waste enters the grease trap. The effluent from the grease trap then enters a standard grinder pump along with the waste from one (1) bathroom. Both are then pumped up to a gravity sewer elevation and drain to the plant.

The problem occurring is smell from the grease trap travels through grinder pump back the line to the bathroom and vents to the top of the building.

The trap smells is so bad that the building ventilation on the roof picks up the odor and spreads it through the entire building. We have tried extending the vent approximately 10’ but that didn’t work.

I believe just placing a standard lateral trap between the bathroom and the grinder pump will solve the problem but I want documentation that I can reference.

 

[dicksewerrat]

Put your P trap in and maybe use a degreaser with a citrus additive in the sewage holding tank to take care of the odor. I think you may have to have them clean out the grease trap more often.

 

[arlos]

A running trap should eliminate the odor problem back to the building

 

[bwi]

Check out the following paper on grease traps:

http://members.aol.com/jitdsm/sas/Lowry_Paper/lowry.htm

We use a biocatalyst to treat a restaurant grease trap in the Sacramento area. They to had been experiencing odor from the grease trap prior to treatment. The hydrosulfate off gassing even discolored the copper vent pipe. Since use of the biocatalyst, the odor problem has been eliminated.

Dean

 

[waterexpert]

I did a bit of work into this a few years ago, and the odours were mainly fatty acids, smelling more like vomit/sweat/diahorrea than the bad egg smell from hydrogen sulphide.

I used to empty fast food restaurants in about 30 seconds when the lid came off the fat trap!

Biocatalysts/enzymes can actually make this problem worse if not used properly. We recommended continous dosing, and a trap designed not to retain the grease, but to allow reaction with the enzyme.

Seán

http://www.expertise-limited.co.uk

 

[saxon]

spatzengr, You can use traps,odor control compounds and the like, but the problem will still be there (impure air being drawn into the fresh air intakes-odor is only the smelly part of the problem). I wish the HVAC and plumbing guys would learn to place the air intakes and piping vents in safe and proper locations. Have the HVAC people duct the intakes to a safe/clean fresh air location and/or reroute the vent to an equally safe location.

Hope this helps.
saxon