Deodorising and degreasing trial

The strength and effectiveness of trioxygen, (or ozone) has long been recognised and it has a wide variety of applications worldwide: from water treatment to dealing with smoke-logged buildings and from killing mould spores to installations in five-star professional kitchens.

However until now, it seems, its effectiveness in the UK has never been scientifically put to the test.

But Greenteck Global is so sure of the quality of its products it decided to do just that. The starting point was to call in Bristol-based Odournet to undertake the trial and produce a report of its findings: available on-line at the company’s website. The company’s odour measurement, assessment and consultancy services are conducted to the highest possible quality criteria by highly trained and experienced professional staff. All activities are conducted in accordance with quality management procedures that are certified to ISO9001.

The trial was undertaken at the Peterborough offices of CK Direct, one of the country’s leading suppliers of kitchen ventilation and extraction, steel fabrication and odour control solutions to the commercial kitchen and catering industry, and stockists / installers of Greenteck Global products.

A custom-built kitchen was constructed on-site, including an extraction system incorporating three GreenTeck Global 64 g trioxygen units (Gteck 64ex) with fresh-air feed. Throughout the course of the trial as many as 50 burgers were cooked and 500 gms of chips fried every 10 minutes representing a ‘worst case’ scenario for odour and grease-generating condition.  And the scope of the trial was to:

• Quantify the odour concentration at the inlet and outlet of the system
• Quantify the grease concentration at the inlet and outlet of the system
• Monitor the Total VOC (Total Volatile Organic Compounds) concentration in the ductwork of the system (at various stages)
• Monitor the ozone concentration at the outlet of the system (at various stages of the test).

The trial was conducted at the end of last year but the results of the just-published Odournet Report are striking.

Odour Concentration: was reduced by 49 per cent at the outlet. The ‘character’ of the residual odour was said to be of a ‘chemical, ozone, chlorine character’ but retained a slight grease, food and frying undertone.

Particulate Concentration: the particulate total – including grease – was reduced from 9.9 mg / m3 at the inlet to just 0.9 mg / m3 at the outlet (or just over 90 per cent). While the grease concentration decreased from 9.1 mg / m3 at the inlet to just 0.3 mg / m3 at the outlet (over 96 per cent).

TVOC: this showed a slight increase: from 7.2 mgC / m3 at inlet to 7.8 mgC / m3 at outlet but it is believed to be due to the action of the ozone breaking down of complex VOC molecules generated in cooking into a larger number of smaller VOC molecules.

Ozone: Greenteck Global carried out two sets of ozone measurements at the final extraction point: one with a GTG Destruct unit – designed to promote the conversion of the ozone (03) back to ordinary oxygen (02) – incorporated within the system – and one without. This reduced the amount of ozone from 1.59 ppm down to 0.08 ppm (or by 95 per cent). For comparison the Ozone Layer contains less than 10 ppm while the average concentration in the atmosphere is around 0.3 ppm.

David Thurston, founder of GreenTeck Global, said: “We’re delighted with the results because they have proved, under the most rigorous and scientific conditions, that when it comes to deodorising and degreasing our equipment can’t be beaten.

“But on top of their effectiveness our ‘Green Machines’ meet the most stringent of Environmental Health requirements and offer a number of other advantages for purchasers and users. Extraction hoods can be operated at lower speeds: reducing energy usage and saving on energy bills. Since trioxygen acts a safe and continuous degreasing agent it enables the optimal operation of the extraction system, extending its operational lifespan. And finally, since the extractor fans run more quietly on lower speeds this also results in noise reduction and a better working environment for employees.”

www.greenteckglobal.com