Simply put, approved bacterial treatments digest grease and other organic waste to prevent FOG (fats, oils & grease) from blocking plumbing systems and grease traps.
The Technical Bit:
Fats, oils and grease, or triglycerides, have a common molecular structure, consisting of a glycerol headpiece to which three fatty acid chains are attached. In the first hydrolysis stage of breakdown, the enzyme lipase catalyses the removal of the fatty acid chains from the glycerol headpiece. The second stage is beta-oxidation, in effect where the liberated fatty acids are cleaved, 2 carbon units at a time, forming a molecule called acetyl co-enzyme A – water and energy. This process continues until the entire fatty acid molecule has been cleaved into acetyl co-enzyme A molecules.
Finally, it is acetyl co-enzyme A that enters the Krebs cycle (TCA cycle/citric acid cycle) to be oxidised into carbon dioxide and water, with the production of energy.