EVIDENCE / RESEARCH LIBRARY

The research behind the application.

Published findings on FOG, odours, hydrogen sulfide and organic sludge. We examine what each study achieved, in which system and under what conditions — and what this means for designing an application.

Sources checked: 29 September 2026

HOW WE READ THE SOURCES

A positive research finding does not guarantee the performance of every formulation. We distinguish laboratory, pilot and field settings, and bioaugmentation from combined or related biological processes.

Each record identifies the primary material available for review. Abstract-only access is not presented as a full-text review. This is a thematic selection, not a systematic review or meta-analysis.

Search title, author or keyword

14 of 14 sources

Grease-trap bioaugmentation

Use of Bio-Amp, a commercial bio-additive for the treatment of grease trap wastewater containing fat, oil, and grease

Tang HL, Xie YF, Chen YC.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Field grease-trap application, not a whole municipal network.
Finding: The study reports 40% less FOG deposit formation following treatment, alongside improved effluent characteristics.
Limitation & transferability: The percentage concerns deposits, not measured blockage reduction. A specific setting and formulation, not proof for another product or a whole network.

Citation & material reviewed

2012. Bioresource Technology 124:52–58.

Material reviewed: Abstract & available publisher excerpts

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.08.012

Biological-addition comparison

Physico-chemical characterization of grease interceptors with and without biological product addition

He X, Osborne J, de los Reyes FL III.

Mixed findings

Setting & conditions: Two full-scale grease interceptors, with treated and untreated cycles over one year.
Finding: Treated cycles had lower BOD/COD. Some individual FOG comparisons were favorable, but the pooled comparison across all cycles was not.
Limitation & transferability: Improved BOD/COD does not establish an equivalent FOG reduction.

Citation & material reviewed

2012. Water Environment Research 84(3):195–201.

Material reviewed: Official abstract

Primary source DOI 10.2175/106143012X13280358613345

Commercial-bioproduct test

Laboratory assessment of bioproducts for sulphide and methane control in sewer systems

Sudarjanto G et al.

No material benefit in this test

Setting & conditions: Laboratory force-main model with three commercial bioproducts.
Finding: The three products tested did not provide material sulfide or methane control under the examined conditions.
Limitation & transferability: The null finding concerns these products and protocols; it does not invalidate every other bioaugmentation strategy.

Citation & material reviewed

2013. Science of the Total Environment 443:429–437.

Material reviewed: Official abstract

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.10.083

Official occupational safety

Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards — Hydrogen sulfide

CDC/NIOSH.

Safety resource

Setting & conditions: Official reference guide for occupational H₂S hazards.
Finding: Smell is not a reliable warning of continued H₂S presence.
Limitation & transferability: Not a bioaugmentation efficacy study or a complete Greek confined-space working protocol.

Citation & material reviewed

Source checked: 2026

Material reviewed: Official reference page

Primary source

Specialist-bioaugmentation kinetics

Effect of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) kinetics on bioaugmentation

Munz G, Szoke N, Oleszkiewicz JA.

Mechanisms & conditions

Setting & conditions: Controlled bioreactors for specialist nitrification bioaugmentation.
Finding: The effectiveness of this specialist bioaugmentation depended on microbial kinetics and operating conditions.
Limitation & transferability: Process-design context, not evidence of FOG/H₂S removal or sludge reduction.

Citation & material reviewed

2012. Bioresource Technology 125:88–96.

Material reviewed: Official abstract

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.08.117

Experimental biodegradation

Waste fat biodegradation and biomodification by Yarrowia lipolytica and a bacterial consortium composed of Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas putida

Tzirita M, Papanikolaou S, Chatzifragkou A, Quilty B.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Aerobic laboratory shake flasks with waste butter or olive oil.
Finding: The bacterial consortium removed approximately 95% of substrate fats by the end of incubation.
Limitation & transferability: Enriched laboratory medium and incubation, not public-sewer flow. Some fat entered biomass; substrate removal is not complete mineralisation.

Citation & material reviewed

2018. Engineering in Life Sciences 18(12):932–942.

Material reviewed: Abstract & available methods/results sections

Primary source DOI 10.1002/elsc.201800067

Laboratory optimisation

Optimization of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) biodegradation using consortium of bacteria

Alkhatib MFR, Nedjai R, Kabbashi NA, Hamdaqa NFM.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Batch tests of a two-strain consortium on used cooking oil.
Finding: Oil removal ranged from 42.5% to 82.7% in 20-day tests, depending on conditions.
Limitation & transferability: 82.7% is an optimised laboratory result from gravimetric residual-oil measurement, not a guarantee for a sewer application.

Citation & material reviewed

2026. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 23, article 214.

Material reviewed: Full main article text

Primary source DOI 10.1007/s13762-025-06948-7

Combined process

Biological Augmentation Eliminates Grease and Oil in Bakery Wastewater

Keenan D, Sabelnikov A.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Field application at a large bakery using a combined treatment configuration.
Finding: Bioaugmentation combined with pH control, mixing/aeration and a biofilter reduced oil/grease from about 1.5 to below 0.03 g/L over a 20-month observation.
Limitation & transferability: Initial bacterial addition was insufficient. The final result belongs to the complete configuration, not the additive alone.

Citation & material reviewed

2000. Water Environment Research 72(2):141–146.

Material reviewed: Official publisher abstract

Primary source DOI 10.2175/106143000X137202

Activated-sludge bioaugmentation

Biodegradation of skatole by Burkholderia sp. IDO3 and its successful bioaugmentation in activated sludge systems

Ma Q et al.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Laboratory activated sludge inoculated with a specific skatole-degrading strain.
Finding: Adding the strain improved removal of skatole, a particular odorant, in an activated-sludge system.
Limitation & transferability: It does not measure total odour or neighbourhood nuisance, or validate another bacterial blend. No removal percentage is inferred from the available abstract.

Citation & material reviewed

2020. Environmental Research 182:109123.

Material reviewed: Official abstract

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109123

R10

Specialist bacterial inoculation

Odor reduction using hydrogen sulfide-removing bacteria in sludge filtration systems: Ferrous-oxidizing bacteria and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria

Choi D, Lee S, Park H, Kim J, Park W, Jung J.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Pilot filtration of conditioned digested sludge using ferrous-oxidising bacteria.
Finding: In the pilot configuration, preconditioning H₂S fell from 57.5±2.9 to 0.01±0.01 ppm after bacterial addition.
Limitation & transferability: Specialist bacteria and acidic sludge-preconditioning conditions. Not a standard sewer-dosing trial or a total-odour measurement.

Citation & material reviewed

2023. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 135(5):395–401.

Material reviewed: Official abstract

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.02.005

R11

Sewer-model bioaugmentation

Bioaugmentation-induced assimilatory sulfate reduction and chain elongation mitigate H2S and CH4 emissions in sewers

Qi Z, Xie J, Jia T, Niu L, Xi J.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Laboratory sewer reactors using Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Finding: Seven-day inoculation with this specific combination reduced H₂S emissions by 86.1% in the laboratory test.
Limitation & transferability: An encouraging sewer-model result, not full-scale validation, proof for another formulation, or a basis for removing safety measures.

Citation & material reviewed

2026. Water Research 291:125246 (online 20 December 2025).

Material reviewed: Abstract & available publisher excerpts

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.watres.2025.125246

R12

Immobilised biomass

A biological strategy for sulfide control in sewers: Removing sulfide by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria

Yuan X et al.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Laboratory sewer model with sulfur-oxidising cultures on ceramic carriers.
Finding: H₂S fell by 43.9% at high and 85.1% at low sulfur loading using bacteria immobilised on ceramic carriers.
Limitation & transferability: Gas-phase control with a dedicated biomass carrier, not evidence of equivalent performance from general liquid inoculum dosing.

Citation & material reviewed

2023. Journal of Environmental Management 348:119237.

Material reviewed: Abstract & available publisher excerpts

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119237

R13

Experimental sludge bioaugmentation

Enhanced reduction of waste activated sludge at a low temperature by locally isolated strains Pseudomonas sp. VNT and Aeromonas sp. VNT

Mohd Yasin NH, Sanchez-Torres V, Maeda T.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: Laboratory aerobic waste activated sludge at low temperatures with selected isolates.
Finding: The authors report 2–8-fold improvement in sludge degradation relative to control at 4–15°C.
Limitation & transferability: A relative laboratory improvement under specific conditions, not a percentage reduction in annual dry-sludge production at a WWTP.

Citation & material reviewed

2014. Bioresource Technology 174:134–141.

Material reviewed: Abstract & available publisher conclusion

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.10.005

R14

Related biological process

Pilot-scale investigation of sludge reduction in aerobic digestion system with endospore-forming bacteria

Seo KW et al.

Favorable finding

Setting & conditions: One-year pilot aerobic digestion using three reactors and a membrane.
Finding: The pilot configuration achieved substantial sludge-organic-matter removal over one year, with Bacillus species present.
Limitation & transferability: The result concerns a complete digestion-and-membrane process, not the isolated effect of an additive or simple sewer dosing.

Citation & material reviewed

2017. Chemosphere 186:202–208.

Material reviewed: Abstract & available publisher sections

Primary source DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.07.150

Reading terms

HRT: Hydraulic retention time of water.
SRT: Solids retention time: a functional measure of biomass and solids retention, not the lifetime of each bacterium.
FOG: Fats, oils and grease.
COD / BOD: Different organic-matter indicators, usually expressed as concentrations. Calculating load also requires flow.
H₂S: Hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas requiring appropriate detection; smell is insufficient.