The recently discovered ‘monster fatberg’ blocking sewers in East London is being used by Thames Water to produce biodiesel. According to the company, “the monster 250-metre long Whitechapel fatberg will be converted into around 10,000 litres of biodiesel.

The congealed mass of fat, oil, grease, wet wipes and sanitary products discovered blocking an east London sewer will create enough environmentally-friendly energy to power 350 double-decker Routemaster buses for a day.

So far around a third of the 130-tonne fatberg, which hit headlines around the world last week, has been removed from the bowels of Whitechapel Road, with work now expected to finish in October due to damage it has caused to the Victorian sewer”.

This week, Utility Week also reported plans by Thames Water to increase energy extraction from sewage. The company says new techniques can help it extract 90% of calorific value from sewage sludge.

External affairs and sustainability director Richard Aylard told the London Infrastructure Summit that the company was developing new AD methods that could nearly double the amount of energy it can use.

“That will get us to 90% and also massively reduce the amount of residue that has to go out to farms,” Aylard told delegates.

Over in Australia, sludge generated by Sydney Water customers is converted into fertiliser and is known as ‘Rocket fuel’ by farmers whose sheep graze on the crops grown as a result. Biosolids are favoured by farmers there as they are rich in phosphorous and nitrogen. They add carbon to the soil and break down more slowly than synthetic fertilisers, conditioning the soil and making it more drought resistant.