Science

Fats, Oils and Grease

Fats, Oils and Grease are known in the trade as FOG.

FOG tends to cool and solidify as it passes through the pipes leading from our homes to where the wastewater is treated. FOG will collect where the pipes are thinnest, or where there are difficult shapes, like corners, U-bends or grease traps.

Other stuff which passes along the pipes will get caught up on the FOG and FOG will get caught up on the other stuff.

Before you know it, you have a blockage. It will probably smell too.

Enzymes are useful little things.

Enzymes degrade FOG and the resulting waste materials are carbon dioxide and water. That is about as environmentally friendly as it is possible to be. The bad news is that enzymes only work once and then they disappear. They just get washed away.

So, what we really need, is some way of generating enzymes actually in your pipes. That’s where our bugs (bacteria) come in.

Bacteria generate enzymes.

When drains and septic tanks are working well, there is a film of living bacteria attached to the inside of the pipes and the wall of the tank. This is called a bio-film or bio-mass.

The bio-film produces enzymes which degrade the FOG, which means wastewater can flow freely. As the bacteria are incredibly small, it is impossible to see or feel the bio-film, but it is there.

Unfortunately, the bio-film is often damaged by the stuff we put down the sinks, dishwashers, washing machines and loos. Modern detergents, washing powders and cleaning liquids often contain biocides which kill bacteria. They are not very discerning and kill just about all bacteria – the good ones as well as the bad ones.

Nature needs a helping hand.

Often, the physical shape of the drains, means that a naturally occurring bio-film cannot survive without a helping hand.

Our products are designed to establish and maintain a bio-film attached to the inside of your pipes. They contain billions of naturally-occurring, non-genetically modified bacteria.

Our powder products contain many different strains of bacteria, specially selected for the job they have to do. They also contain micro-nutrients which make the bacteria work harder and a bio-enhancer to make them work faster.

The liquid products contain high quality surfactants which help to break up the blockages so that the bacteria and enzymes can get in amongst the solids and degrade the FOG more quickly.

Bio-augmentation

This whole process is known as Bio-augmentation, because you are augmenting (adding to) the existing biological population in your drains.

Bio-augmentation is environmentally friendly, clean and green.

It is the natural pollution solution.