5 Big Scale-up Projects – From beginning to end of supply chain, these projects show how scale-up happens

Greasezilla installations for FOG separation tech

In West Virginia, things are scaling up with Greasezilla too with more companies selecting their FOG (fats, oils and grease) Separation Technology. Just last week, Downey Ridge Environmental Company, developer of Greasezilla, was selected by Safeway Used Oil and Grease to provide its FOG (fats, oils and grease) Separation Technology. The independent hauler is installing a Greasezilla system to help dispose and recycle the vast amounts of grease trap waste they collect from foodservice businesses. The system provides them with a cost-effective disposal process that reduces landfilling practices while also generating a clean advanced biofuel.

Safeway Used Oil and Grease is a premier provider of grease trap cleaning services in New Orleans. The family-owned business partners with commercial, industrial, and institutional clients, such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools, among others.

It is necessary for grease traps to be maintained and pumped on a regular basis. However, pumpers like Safeway Used Oil and Grease that haul commercial grease trap waste, are experiencing a dire shortage of FOG processing solutions. Receiving stations are currently limiting disposal options and raising tipping fees, leaving pumpers waiting in long lines or driving long distances to find a place where they can dump their loads. In doing so, foodservice customers may have to wait longer periods of time to get their grease traps pumped and maintained. Not only is this a hazard for the foodservice facility, but it also creates frustrations for foodservice owners.

Carlo Cacioppo, Safeway Used Oil and Grease, said, “I initially figured that a system like Greasezilla would be too expensive for my family business. However, as business grew, we began running into disposal problems. I realized we had to become independent and start doing things on our own. We were having a lot of difficulties disposing of the waste. And then on top of that, it was too costly. If we could afford to pay somebody else for disposal, we figured we could afford to pay for a Greasezilla system that would help us process FOG, get rid of it and even use it.”

Now, Safeway Used Oil and Grease will be able to process the grease trap waste safely and quickly, and even guarantee that it will go on to have further purpose as an advanced biofuel or as feedstock for biodiesel conversion technologies.

Cacioppo continued, “The Greasezilla system is going to benefit myself and others by making the waste disposal a whole lot faster. Moving forward, I plan on opening this operation up to other haulers in the area and invite them to dispose of their grease trap waste using our Greasezilla system. The goal is to work together with other people in our industry to provide faster and safer maintenance throughout New Orleans.”

This after Downey Ridge Environmental Company reports its installed base is expanding beyond its traditional wastewater treatment and grease trap waste hauling sectors and into the biodiesel production, anaerobic digestion, food processing and water reclamation industries. The Greasezilla hydronic thermal separation system is increasingly becoming a “front-end” processing technology across 6 clean technology verticals, including:

Wastewater Treatment Facilities: Municipalities are installing Greasezilla systems to help their publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) handle grease and better prevent Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs). At the forefront of this movement within the past year, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District selected Greasezilla as the FOG separation technology for its Nansemond Treatment plant in Virginia.

Independent Haulers: A dire shortage of FOG processing solutions and centers limit disposal options for haulers, leaving them to drive long distances in order to dump their loads. Independent haulers are turning to Greasezilla to help them dispose of the vast amounts of grease trap waste they collect from commercial foodservice businesses. Systems are slated for Chicago, New Orleans and Atlanta.

Biodiesel Production: Greasezilla’s low moisture, high FFA Brown Grease offtake is an ideal feedstock for biodiesel conversion. Instead of purchasing materials needed for the feedstock, biodiesel plants can generate their own. The Greasezilla system adds additional profitability to biodiesel production facilities by generating high-quality feedstock in-house from materials that haulers will pay to unload. New systems are slated for Connecticut and Georgia.

Anaerobic Digestion: Anaerobic digestion is often utilized for FOG disposal but balancing the biology and input stream is essential. The batter layer from FOG is excellent for digesters if the quality of the organic waste can be managed. Greasezilla’s FOG separation process manages those input characteristics, providing a balanced feedstock for digesters. Systems are slated for Washington and California.

Water reclamation: As a pretreatment process, Greasezilla benefits water reclamation organizations looking to recover water for use in irrigation or groundwater recharge. Since grease trap waste consists of 95% water that can be extracted by Greasezilla, it is a readily available source for water reclamation technology. A new system is slated for Texas.

Food Processors: The newest application of Greasezilla is in the food processing industry, where FOG can be processed at its source, instead of hauling it to other locations for processing and disposal. Greasezilla recently introduced a flexible, modular system configuration to accommodate remote and large-scale food production facilities. The new modular Greasezilla system can be placed at any large-scale collection point. Designed for both interior and exterior placement, the modular Greasezilla FOG separation system is scalable in 10,000-gallon increments, with a new system slated for Massachusetts.

More on the story here.

Bottom Line

While Covid-19 has slowed many things down around the world, it’s great to see biofuels and bioeconomy projects still moving forward. Like Starship’s 1987 memorable song, “Nothing’s gonna stop us now.”