Trials of a cutting-edge fat, oils and grease (FOG) Restoration Hub at Yorkshire Water’s wastewater therapy works in Hull are serving to the utility enhance environmental efficiency whereas reducing prices, says Chris Clemes, chief govt of engineering expertise firm EcoClarity.
Sewer blockages are a serious concern within the UK, with an estimated 200,000 occurring yearly, and FOG – fats, oil and grease – cited because the trigger in round 75% of instances.
A build-up of FOG hinders the sleek operation of sewer techniques and wastewater therapy works (WwTW), shortens the lifespan of vital property and will increase upkeep prices. This burden in the end falls on water firms.
“As a water company, we suffer from thousands of preventable blockages each year from fats going down sewers. FOG blockages, or fatbergs impair the performance of wastewater assets which can cause sewer overflows, that can impact the environment,” explains Yorkshire Water’s waste providers supervisor James Gudgeon.
“Water companies can spend a significant amount of money on staff and equipment costs to remove FOG from our sewers and send it to landfill – which also has an environmental impact. Additionally, network failures caused by FOG blockages carry the risk of costly environmental performance fines.”
As a part of Yorkshire Water’s drive to extend effectivity inside its operations, the water utility works alongside expertise consultancy Isle to establish the most recent applied sciences and improvements in clear and wastewater.
“In 2021, Isle suggested working with EcoClarity on our wastewater site, at a time we were looking to grow our imported waste business. The EcoClarity proposition gives us the ability to import different types of waste that we would not normally be able to treat.”
Yorkshire Water is the primary UK water utility to put in EcoClarity’s patented expertise – positioned at its Hull wastewater therapy web site. The modular, containerised EcoClarity system was launched in February 2024 and will probably be used to deal with FOG wastewater generated onsite throughout cleansing and upkeep procedures, in addition to masses from waste administration firms.
The method separates problematic FOG from wastewater and recovers a useful vitality useful resource for biodiesel manufacturing, whereas returning secure water to the setting. The operational mannequin entails putting in a community of FOG Restoration Hubs at wastewater therapy works and different websites appropriate for liquid waste tankers to dump grease entice waste.
“We’re turning FOG waste into a valuable resource,” says Chris Febrey, EcoClarity’s operations supervisor. “By precisely measuring and verifying the composition of waste, we are able to confirm reductions in greenhouse fuel emissions for companies and promote a round financial system.
“Our collaboration with Yorkshire Water highlights the importance of proper FOG management.”
The set up has a myriad of advantages for Yorkshire Water. Alongside the environmental and monetary rewards of safely eradicating the FOG from the setting.
“Working in partnership is a significant commitment, but it was an easy decision once we looked at the holistic benefits of EcoClarity’s hubs,” says Gudgeon. “It brings us one other avenue of engagement with the meals trade and the FSEs [food service establishments] on the market; it reduces the quantity FOG going into sewers at supply – stopping sewer blockages and defending the setting, in the end leading to defending our individuals not having to do excessive threat jobs.
“It also enables us to bring in new waste streams and new revenue streams into Yorkshire Water and ultimately that money is reinvested into the business and goes towards helping keep customer bills low – it is a true circular economy in action,” he provides.
FOG is a typical byproduct of economic kitchens and meals processing amenities, however its disposal has lengthy posed a problem to the water sector. Presently, an excessive amount of FOG enters the sewers and drains, inflicting blockages, which considerably affect the general public, the setting, and are expensive for water firms to clear.
The choice is landfill disposal, which fails to capitalise on the worth of FOG as a possible renewable gas supply. The patented EcoClarity system effectively separates fats, oils and grease from wastewater, leading to a 98% focus of oil appropriate for biodiesel manufacturing, which might in the end be used to energy the vans transporting the FOG.
As EcoClarity websites are registered with Argent Power’s Carbon Certification Scheme, the corporate can observe the amount of greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions saved by the biodiesel produced from its FOG feedstock. This enables third-party firms, disposing of their waste on this approach, to exhibit their dedication to sustainability with transparency.
Lengthy journey distances, gradual offloading occasions, restricted knowledge on waste content material, and an absence of transparency in pricing have traditionally led to frustration and a drain on income for liquid waste operators. Due to EcoClarity’s extremely environment friendly disposal alternatives, first at Argent Power’s refinery in Stanlow, Cheshire, and now at Hull wastewater therapy works, journey distances for hauliers are minimised, together with gas consumption.
EcoClarity’s FOG Restoration Hubs analyse the exact mass and FOG content material of each load that is available in. Because the FOG-rich waste goes by way of a mass meter, it’s quantified and the info shared with the shopper – supporting their inexperienced credentials.
This additionally interprets to faster turnarounds for tankers, decrease working prices, and extra time spent serving clients. Boasting as much as a 87% discount in greenhouse gases, biodiesel contributes to local weather change mitigation and could possibly be used to energy tankers transporting wastewater – creating a good round financial system of worth.
“We are working with EcoClarity towards the potential nirvana of being able to harvest the FOG from our sewer network and turn it into biodiesel that fuels our vans. That’s the end goal,” added Gudgeon.
Additional EcoClarity hubs are being deliberate by Yorkshire Water, with Knostrop wastewater therapy works in Leeds subsequent on the listing. Websites belonging to United Utilities and Southern Water, in addition to two massive leisure venues in London and Cornwall, are additionally within the pipeline.