QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions Operators Ask Us About DRP Accelerator, H2S and FOG
DRP Accelerator is an inorganic compound that carries usable oxygen to the bacteria already living in your wastewater, and this page answers the questions operators ask us about it most often. We hear the same handful of questions at every trade show and conference booth: whether we are selling a bacteria product, whether the compound is safe around pumps and metal, why hydrogen sulfide (H2S) forms in a sewer line in the first place, and what happens to the accelerator once it has done its work. We add no bacteria and no enzymes; we bring oxygen the native population can use, and with that oxygen available the bacteria stop stripping it from sulfate, so H2S is not formed. The questions below run from what the product is, through the biology behind hydrogen sulfide and fats, oils and grease (FOG), to how the monthly program is dosed, measured and priced. If your question is not here, our contact page will get you a straight answer.
The questions we get at every conference, answered straight.
- DRP Accelerator is an inorganic compound that carries usable oxygen to the bacteria already living in wastewater.
- No bacteria or enzymes are added; the bacterial population already in the system does the work once oxygen is available.
- Hydrogen sulfide forms when bacteria exhaust dissolved oxygen and strip oxygen from sulfate instead.
- Hydrogen sulfide gas becomes sulfuric acid on contact with a wet surface, which is the source of sewer and lift station corrosion.
- DRP Accelerator is NSF registered as a nonfood compound and contains no sulfur, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium or phosphate.
- The accelerator is consumed as the bacteria use its oxygen, leaving no trace of the compound downstream.
- Facultative bacteria can function with or without oxygen, unlike strict aerobes or anaerobes.
What DRP Accelerator is
DRP Accelerator is an inorganic compound that carries usable oxygen to the bacteria already living in your wastewater. We add no bacteria and no enzymes, no chemical additives: the population already in your system does the work once oxygen is available. It is NSF registered as an L1 nonfood compound, and our own documents show it carries no sulfur, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium or phosphate into your water. When the native bacteria can reach that oxygen, they take it first instead of stripping it from sulfate, so the sulfide that becomes hydrogen sulfide is not made in the first place. The same oxygen lets the aerobic bacteria multiply and work through fats, oils, grease and settled organic sludge. We deliver it as a monthly service: a tank on site, a continuous drip, and monitoring we do remotely.
What it is not
DRP Accelerator is not a bacteria additive and not an enzyme product. We are not adding anything alive to your water, and we are not adding an enzyme to speed up a reaction; we are supplying the one thing your native bacteria are missing, which is oxygen they can use. It is not an oxidizer, and it does not attack metal, pipe coatings or equipment. It is not a scrubber, an iron salt or a masking agent either: those deal with hydrogen sulfide after it has formed, and we prevent it from forming instead. It does not replace gas monitors or confined space entry procedures, and it does not dissolve sand or grit or fix a failed pump or an undersized lagoon. What is left in your water once the bacteria use the oxygen is nothing: no trace of the compound downstream.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Straight answers.
Is DRP Accelerator a bacteria additive?+
DRP Accelerator is not a bacteria additive. We add no bacteria to your system; the population already living in your wastewater does the work once it has the oxygen it needs. Products that pour in more bacteria are working around the real shortage, which is oxygen, not population.
Is DRP Accelerator an enzyme product?+
DRP Accelerator is not an enzyme product. We add no enzymes to your wastewater; the accelerator's job is to carry usable oxygen to the bacteria that are already there. The bacteria do the digesting once they have the oxygen to work with.
Is DRP Accelerator a chemical?+
DRP Accelerator is an inorganic compound, not an organic or synthetic chemical additive in the way operators usually mean the word. It carries usable oxygen to the bacteria in your wastewater and is consumed as they use that oxygen, so nothing of it remains behind. It is NSF registered as an L1 nonfood compound, and our own documents show it contains no sulfur, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium or phosphate.
What does DRP Accelerator add to my water?+
DRP Accelerator adds usable oxygen to your water and nothing else. It carries that oxygen in a form the bacteria already living in your system can take up directly, in zones aeration never reaches. It does not add bacteria, enzymes or any other compound that stays behind.
Why does hydrogen sulfide form in a sewer line or lagoon in the first place?+
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) forms because bacteria run out of easy oxygen and go looking for more of it. They use up the water's dissolved oxygen first, then take oxygen from nitrate, and once that is gone they strip it from sulfate, leaving sulfide behind that becomes hydrogen sulfide gas. When that gas meets a wet surface it forms sulfuric acid, which is what corrodes pipe crowns, wet wells and lift station hardware.
What is the difference between anaerobic, aerobic and facultative bacteria, and which do I want?+
Anaerobic bacteria work without oxygen, aerobic bacteria need it, and facultative bacteria can operate either way depending on what is available. A healthy, fast-working wastewater system runs mostly aerobic: that is where fats, oils, grease and organic solids get digested quickly and hydrogen sulfide is not being made. Anaerobic conditions are slower, and they are where sulfide gets stripped from sulfate and turns into H2S. Giving the bacteria a supply of usable oxygen is what shifts a system from the slow, gas-producing anaerobic state toward the aerobic one you want.
Do treatment plants ever want anaerobic zones on purpose?+
Yes, treatment plants sometimes want anaerobic zones on purpose, for nitrogen removal and sometimes phosphorus removal. We dose upstream of those zones, so the plant keeps the anaerobic stages its process depends on while the collection system ahead of it stops producing hydrogen sulfide. This tradeoff is part of what we review with your operators before a program starts.
Does DRP Accelerator work in force mains?+
Yes, DRP Accelerator works well in force mains. A force main pumps wastewater under pressure to the next lift station instead of letting it flow by gravity, which means the water sits longer and loses its oxygen faster, and that is exactly where hydrogen sulfide builds. Carrying oxygen on the molecule itself reaches that water in a way aeration at the plant cannot.
Does it work in lift stations?+
Yes, DRP Accelerator works in lift stations. Water is held there longer than it would be in gravity flow, which is why lift stations are a common place for hydrogen sulfide and odor to build. Dosing at or ahead of the lift station gets oxygen into the water before that happens.
Does it work in lagoons, and alongside aeration at a treatment plant?+
Yes to both. In a lagoon we dose the water directly or upstream of it, which matters most at the bottom and in the anaerobic zones where sulfide is being made. At the plant it works alongside your existing aeration rather than replacing it: aeration can only dissolve a limited amount of oxygen into water, and the accelerator carries oxygen into zones blowers do not reach.
Does it help with FOG (fats, oils and grease)?+
Yes, DRP Accelerator helps with fats, oils and grease (FOG). The oxygen it carries lets aerobic bacteria digest grease and organic solids instead of letting them cap the flow and settle into sludge. Grease buildup itself is also a source of hydrogen sulfide, so breaking it down is part of the same prevention.
Does DRP Accelerator hurt pumps or other equipment?+
No, DRP Accelerator does not hurt pumps or equipment; if anything, it helps them run easier. At one dairy, a wet well pump was drawing higher amperage moving thick solids, and once the fats and grease in that wet well broke down, the amperage went down and the pump moved thinner water more easily. It is not a strong oxidizer, and it does not attack metal.
Does it corrode metal or pipe?+
No, DRP Accelerator does not corrode metal or pipe. Corrosion in a sewer or lift station comes from hydrogen sulfide gas meeting a wet surface and forming sulfuric acid, and preventing the H2S from forming in the first place prevents that acid from forming too. The compound itself is not an oxidizer and does not attack metal.
What does DRP Accelerator leave downstream?+
DRP Accelerator leaves nothing downstream. It is fully consumed as the bacteria use its oxygen, so there is no trace of the compound left in your water once it has done its work. That is different from an iron-based product, which leaves iron behind that has to be removed, or a nitrogen-based product, which adds nitrogen to water downstream.
Does it replace gas monitors or confined space procedures?+
No, DRP Accelerator never replaces gas monitors or confined space entry procedures. It reduces the hydrogen sulfide a space produces, but your crews still need to test the air and follow your confined space program before anyone enters a wet well or manhole. A treatment program is never a substitute for a safety procedure.
How fast will we see results?+
In our field work, reductions typically begin to show within six to eight weeks of the first dose, and hydrogen sulfide readings can fall much sooner than that. Every system is different, so we measure against your own baseline rather than quoting a timeline that fits every site. Our case studies page shows what that curve has looked like at real sites.
What do you need from us to start a review?+
To start a review we need a few basics about your system: the system type, its location, the main problem you are dealing with, and your flow in gallons per day. Estimates are fine for a first conversation. From there we work out whether a program fits and what it would look like at your site.
How is DRP Accelerator dosed?+
DRP Accelerator is dosed from a dry product that we mix and activate in a tank on site, set up as far upstream as we can reach water and power. From that tank it drips continuously into the flow, and we monitor the tank level remotely. We come back to replenish it on a schedule, typically every four to eight weeks depending on tank size and dose.
Does it end pumping or dredging?+
No, DRP Accelerator does not end pumping or dredging on its own. It works on the organic fraction of what is in a lagoon or wet well: fats, oils, grease and organic sludge. Sand and grit are inorganic and stay exactly where they are, so a system that collects grit will still need it removed.
How is DRP Accelerator priced?+
DRP Accelerator is priced monthly, after a review of your system. There is no capital purchase: you are paying for a service we run, not equipment you buy and maintain. Pricing depends on your system type, flow and dose, which is why it follows the review rather than a posted rate.