Thames Water teams up with Argent Energy to turn UK’s biggest fatberg into biofuels

Britain’s biggest congealed mass of fat, oil and wet wipes, is to be transformed into biofuels.

The fatberg, which was found beneath the streets of Whitechapel, east London, weighs around 130 tonnes and is 250 metres long. It will be turned into around 10,000 litres of biodiesel.

The fatberg, which is more than twice the length of two football pitches, took an eight-strong crew using high-powered jet hoses to break up and dislodge the mass.

The team has now transferred the fatberg to a specialist plant where it will be processed with other fats and greases and transformed into a biodiesel.

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

“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.

“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.”

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