Restaurant Chains Clean the Air with BASF Technology

Catalytic converters, which are responsible for dramatically reducing automobile pollution, are now doing the same thing for several nationwide restaurant chains.

BASF has leveraged its expertise in environmental catalysis to develop the most widely accepted food-service catalyst technology in order to meet new emissions regulations for restaurants.

Chain-driven charbroilers and rapid-cook technology used in many fast food restaurants rely on high temperatures to cook meat quickly, but they also generate large amounts of smoke and odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. By some estimates, cooking four normal size hamburgers emits the same amount of VOCs as driving a current model car 1,000 miles.

In addition to their impact on air quality, smoke and odors in restaurant kitchens can cause irritation and discomfort for employees. For these reasons, emission control has become an important part of cooking-process design. Our food-service technology cost-effectively addresses this need and is now in operation at thousands of stores run by several restaurant chains across the country.

BASF's food-service catalytic converters can reduce cooking emissions by more than 80%, and meet California's strict C-Cert requirements for VOC and smoke abatement. They reduce smoke and gases from charbroilers and rapid-cook ovens by oxidizing them. The converters are mounted into charbroiler ventilation shrouds or rapid-cook oven ventilation ducts where they run on exhaust heat. The systems are designed for easy installation and maintenance.  

In addition to its clean-air benefits, the technology also enables restaurant operators to lower operating costs by decreasing their gas usage and reducing the frequency of duct and roof cleaning. As a result, payback time can be less than a year.