Tagged with 'reducing_emulsions'

Suggestions for Reducing Detergent/Lipid Emulsions:

Apr 22, 2013

Keep Soapy flows from Contacting Downstream Fats and Oils (Lipids)

A commercial dishwasher’s output is hot, soapy water and is ALWAYS running richer than needed in terms of detergent chemicals. Why? Because it is a far lesser evil to send unused detergent (high in BOD) with sanitizers (chlorides) and water softening agents (a variety of mineral grabbing stuff so as to leave no spots on the washed ware) THAN to have a potential sanitary hazard imposed on the community’s dining customers, i.e. dirty dishes. Sending a commercial dishwasher’s output through the kitchen’s drainage plumbing emulsifies any and all fats or oils in its route, including the retained grease and oils in a conventional downstream grease separator. Notice the wording “conventional”. Anytime a warm (usually no longer hot by that time) soapy flow enters a conventional (think traditional inlet and outlet configuration), it rises “lava lamp” style and displaces the cold water already in the separator. As the cold water layer falls, it tugs on the underside of the trapped grease mat, adding some gentle mixing action.

Apr 22, 2013

Better Practices in the Modern Era

We are thankful to live in the 21^st century and to not worry about dying from a restaurant dining experience. I once worked with a man whose 20 year-old brother died in 1940 of food poisoning from a restaurant with poor sanitation. As recently as the late 1940s, hot water heaters were not reliable and ware-washing detergents were caustic based. If the water was not hot, the detergent was not effective. Today’s modern restaurant has plenty of hot water, highly efficient detergents and those detergents also contain sanitizers and water softening agents to ensure complete sanitation and cleaning takes place.

Today we have better sanitation practices and the plates are always clean, but how about what is being sent down the drain? Does it pose a problem for the community’s sewer collection system? Can the constituents be treated at the community’s wastewater treatment plant?