In troubled waters
From full tables to full stomachs, being busy is a good problem to have if you run a restaurant. But with all that demand comes a whole lot of fats, oils and grease (FOG). For a popular seafood chain, FOG began piling up as fast as the plates.
The restaurant’s concrete interceptor couldn’t handle the flow rate or the acidic, corrosive food waste. Soon, grease seeped into the sanitary sewer system. Eventually, the buildup turned into all-out blockage, clogging the nearby municipal pumping station paramount to move effluent to the local sewage treatment plant.
Something fishy going on
Soon the culprit was found and it wasn’t pretty. The restaurant’s grease interceptor had corroded to the point it needed to be replaced immediately. Pretreatment authorities confirmed the interceptor failed to meet local effluent FOG standards. They quickly raised flags, citing food grease and solids as the leading cause of sanitary sewer overflow.
When sewers overflow, so do the costs. The repercussions cost taxpayers and the business. The restaurant faced fines and possible closure. This is where Zurn Green Turtle stepped in.
The choice was clear. The restaurant replaced its concrete interceptor with a Proceptor GMC-2000 fiberglass grease/solids interceptor. Proceptors are engineered for long-standing grease capture and retention. They handle high flow rates, require less maintenance, and last far beyond other systems. With a 30-year warranty, the restaurant felt like there was finally a happy ending to the ordeal.
Proceptor puts FOG in the past
The investment would actually pay off over time. After crunching some numbers, the restaurant owners realized it was far more cost effective to install the Proceptor once, rather than continually replacing corroded concrete interceptors in the future. In addition, expensive concrete treatments do not prevent corrosion from grease and solids. According to a Portland Cement Association study, “protective surface treatments are not infallible” when it comes to restaurant wastewater.
Three months after installation, the lift station was inspected and was found to be completely free of grease buildup. Samples taken at the outlet of the Proceptor showed the effluent FOG content was well within regulatory standards. Later samples taken by the lift station further confirmed the Proceptor’s efficiency with the FOG measurement of 44 milligrams per liter, falling well below the locally required level of 100 milligrams per liter. The restaurant picked up where it left off without fail and without future failure of its system.