Drain to gain

Fat is a management issue according to Anglian Water, which estimates that at any one time there is 10,000 tonnes of fat in its network of sewers. That’s enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools, say Anglian, and if converted would make enough biodiesel to fuel 8,000 family cars for a year.

Image via Wikipedia

The company recently sponsored a conference organised by Cranfield University which addressed the problem of FOGs (fats, oils and greases) blocking up our drainage systems. The conference called for a re-formulation of legislation concerning food service establishments’ disposal of FOGs, stating that existing legislation has been shown to be ineffective in dealing with the problem.

A report released by Cranfield University claims that FOGs are responsible for up to 75 per cent of the 200,000 drain blockages throughout the UK every year, while Water UK estimates that about £15m is spent annually on reactive blockage clearance nationwide, with further costs for clean-up after flooding incidents.

Martin Fairley, a part-time PhD student at Cranfield and director of ACO Building Drainage, says: “It is a very fragmented industry and I believe there is very little science being applied, and therefore much opportunity to develop a far more robust understanding of the issues from which credible solutions will evolve.”

He is calling for the formation of a trade association to help to structure an industry-wide coherent approach to tackling the problem.

Steve Kaye, manager of innovations at Anglian Water says: “FOG should be considered a valuable resource. If it can be prevented from entering sewers, it can be used to make biofuel or digested to generate electricity.”
Anyone interested in having their views heard can contact Martin Fairley on mfairley@aco.co.uk.

Home  |   Subscribe   |   Advertise   |   Book Reviews   |   Previous Content