The Fatberglar: A small scale, semi-continuous bioreactor for the controlled release of FOG degrading enzymes

Fats, oils and greases (FOGs) enter the national sewage system and accumulate, leading to blocked pipes, nicknamed “fatbergs”. There are currently over 200,000 major UK sewage blockages a year, of which 75% are caused by FOGs; tackling these blockages costs water companies millions of pounds every month.
The biological project work focused on development of constructs that produce lipase and keratinase enzymes to degrade FOGs and hair. These constructs are designed to sit within a small, under-sink bioreactor that will produce and feed them into the waste system as the sink is drained.
To shape the approach, there has been significant interaction with industry experts and the public to gauge where the responsibility lies for the maintenance of the damaged drains; awareness of synthetic biology has been raised alongside this. A novel method of characterising the policy and practices component of the iGEM competition is also presented here.