Brown University

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is an Ivy League institution sporting an enrollment of almost 8,000 graduate & undergraduate students. In order to feed these 8,000 hungry students, there are five main eating establishments producing a prodigious number of meals each day. During the school year the largest of these dining halls, the Sharpe Refectory, produces up to 5,500 meals per day alone.

Along with the multitude of meals served daily, a prodigious amount of grease is also generated. This unfortunate by-product was causing some significant problems in the early 1990’s. The University originally had large, passive traps handling their kitchen effluent. These required a great deal of maintenance, but were simply not doing the job. The facilities department was having to jet out their sewer lines on a frequent basis while running the risk of having a serious backup.

To add to this, around 1992 the Narragansett Bay Commission (an aggressive pretreatment authority based in Providence) began requiring all facilities with commercial kitchen operations come into compliance with its newly enacted pretreatment ordinance. So the problem was thus: how to reduce the amount of time spent cleaning out grease traps and jetting of sewer lines while meeting the limits decreed by the NBC?

One specification that the University wanted to make sure was included in whatever solution was available was to have an internal solids strainer to handle the large amounts of solids going down the drains. The solution that best met the requirements of the University was found in the Big Dipper Automatic Grease & Oils Removal Systems.

The Sharpe Refectory is the main dining hall for Brown University. It also acts as a central “meal distribution center” to several other dining sites on campus. As such, it generates a heavy quantity of grease and oils. The Refectory was therefore a major target for the school as well as the NBC. Around 1993, a total of 10 units ranging in size from 20 GPM flow point source units to 75 GPM flow central grease removal units were installed in the Refectory. Smaller point source units were installed elsewhere around the campus at the other dining establishments. In all, a total of 18 Big Dippers were installed on campus. The results?

According to Joseph Barboza, Facilities Manager for Brown University, the units have worked quite well. “We have not had to jet out our sewer lines associated with the kitchens once since we installed the units. We appreciate the flexibility of the Big Dippers - we can maneuver the units around when we modify or expand our kitchen layouts. We’re very happy with the product.” Maintenance requirements have been reduced, and the school has also stayed consistently in compliance with the NBC.

And as such, Brown University students will continue to enjoy their meals at the Refectory and the facilities management will not have to worry about any threatening grease problems.

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