Characterization of preparation for fat separators

Fats, oils and greases in waste water frequently cause serious environmental problems. A commercial preparation was tested for its ability to degrade oil and grease in wastewater. As substrates, two fats (lard and beef fat) and four oils (rape seed oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and olive oil) were chosen. The degradation ability of commercial preparation for different substrates was investigated by the determination of lipid degradation at pH 7, temperature 25 °C, aerobic condition and agitation at 160 rev/min for 14 days in Erlenmeyer flasks. Simultaneously, the lipolytic activity was spectrophotometrically determined at 420 nm. All tested substrates were degraded by the different rate to basic units (fatty acids). Rape seed oil and lard were decomposed by bacterial lipase from commercial preparation.