What Is a Grease Interceptor and What Does It Do?

Higher living standards raise expectations for catering hygiene, and proper kitchen waste handling matters for public health. Canteen grease interceptors are essential for collecting waste cooking oil after food prep. CHINENG explains what they are and what they do.

What is a grease interceptor?

1) It is a pretreatment structure that removes floatable oils from oily wastewater by density difference—oil rises, water sinks.

2) Most units are horizontal-flow: wastewater enters a rectangular tank, flows slowly, oil floats to the surface and is collected to a dewatering tank by oil pipes or scrapers.

3) Heavy oil and solids settle into sludge hoppers and leave via sludge pipes. Treated water overflows to drains for further treatment of emulsified oil and other pollutants.

What does it do?

1. Prevent sewer overflow pollution: kitchen staff generate oily liquids that should not go straight to sewers; interceptors reduce that discharge risk.

2. Protect environmental hygiene: centralized collection and handling of greasy waste keeps surroundings cleaner.

3. Raise efficiency and cut cost: less manual handling of greasy waste.

4. Reduce pollution and food-resource waste.

5. Lower labor intensity.

6. Cut energy and operating cost.

Follow the CHINENG website for more commercial kitchen equipment knowledge.