We began our collaboration by speaking with industry experts from the innovations team at Anglian Water and academics within Chemical and Biological Engineering and Civil Engineering from the university who were heavily involved with sewage systems. This enabled us to determine, alongside the liability study, that the product should be incorporated at the consumer end as an alternative to currently used grease traps. By breaking down the fats, oils and greases early on, there would be prevention of build up deep in the sewer as well as domestic clogging; this gives our product the advantage of being used as a preventative measure in two different locations. Click here to see the development of our product over the summer and the final designs.

We also set up a trip to the Yorkshire Water Hayton Wastewater Treatment Facility. We met with Clarke and Lindsay, representatives from Yorkshire Water, who explained to us how the facility should operate and how deposits of fats, oils and greases inhibited it from functioning properly.

Hayton is the location of a small facility where a fatberg had recently been found. Yorkshire Water jetted the site prior to our visit after a large fatberg deposit had accumulated previously, but since then more fat deposits had begun to develop. We were given the chance to see an amassing fatberg in the real world, and we could see how damaging FOG deposits were with our own eyes.

Upon arrival we were shown around the enclosure within which the tanks and blowers were built. They explained to us that the site was a typical descriptive site where inappropriate disposal of FOGs had led to the development of a blockage in the tanks, which typically would process sewage received from the surrounding domestic and commercial properties. Hayton serves a largely rural population, mainly receiving waste from farms and small villages, and is one of a small number of descriptive sites in the area, which cater to such populations.

We were shown how samples were collected from the primary tanks outside of the main tank. The sample collected on the day we visited was markedly redder than is typically expected from a sewage sample, and was collected by Yorkshire Water for further investigation. It was speculated this might have been effluent sent to the treatment plant from a neighbouring abattoir, although this would not comply with waste regulations.

After we were shown the outer tanks in which sewage was aerated we were shown the main tank at Hayton. A fatberg had accumulated in the settling tank of the plant. The settling tank is where the solids sediment and separate from the liquid part of the sewage, but a thick, yellow layer of lipid mass had hardened on the top of the sewage. The hardened fatberg prevented the separation of solid mass from liquid, and the comparatively separated sewage could not flow through to the next compartment. This in turn inhibited waste material from entering the settling tank in the first place, and the system was on the verge of overflowing.

The lack of sewage exiting the settling tank had a knock-on effect on the aeration tank as well. The aeration tank is where aerobic bacteria are grown to reduce the organic content of the sewage before it is sent on to a purification plant. Since there was a reduction in effluent reaching the aeration tank the bacterial population was declining. Levels were also lower in the final clarification tank.

After touring the plant we discussed the problems and damages caused by fatbergs and the great cost this had on Yorkshire Water with Clarke. It was apparent that a solution to this problem would be greatly sought after by the water industry. It was noted that the recent spate of fatbergs had coincided with the recent opening of a new restaurant not 100 metres from the site itself, and problems in the area had not been commonplace before it’s opening.

This video we have created will take you through the steps and measures taken at the treatment plant and will allow you to see a real life fatberg!