‘Biggest ever’ fatberg to be made into 10,000 litres of fuel

Sebastian Mann18 September 2017

A “monster” fatberg weighing 130 tonnes that was discovered beneath London is going to be converted into 10,000 litres of biodiesel.

The 250m-long congealed mass, which weighs the same as 11 double-decker buses, will be harvested into enough fuel to power one of those Routemasters for an entire year, Thames Water said.

Engineers are still working in the sewers under Whitechapel Road in east London to remove the gigantic gelatinous lump of wet wipes, nappies, fat and oil.

Thames Water expects to finish the job in October – before sending off all the gloop to a specialist plant where elements of it will be transformed into the green diesel alternative.

Waste network manager Alex Saunders said: “It may be a monster, but the Whitechapel fatberg deserves a second chance.

The enormous fatberg weighs the same as 11 double-decker buses

“We’ve therefore teamed up with leading waste to power firm Argent Energy to transform what was once an evil, gut-wrenching, rancid blob into pure green fuel.

A workman in protective clothing prepares to go into the sewer to chip away at the enormous fatberg

“It’s the perfect solution for the environment and our customers as we work towards our target to self-generate 33 per cent of the electricity we use from renewable sources by 2020.

“It also means the Whitechapel fatberg will get a new lease of life as renewable, biodegradable fuel powering an engine instead of causing the misery of sewer flooding.”

The mass is 10 times bigger than one found in Kingston in 2013 which made national headlines

Work to remove the fatberg started this week and involves an eight-man crew using jet hoses to break it up before sucking it out into tankers.

They are removing about 20 to 30 tonnes per shift, working nine hours a day, seven days a week.

The fatberg is more than 10 times bigger than the one in Kingston in 2013 which made national headlines.

The company said it spends about £1 million a month clearing blockages from its sewers.

Head of waste networks Matt Rimmer urged people to think about what they flush down toilets: “The sewers are not an abyss for household rubbish.”

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