Anti-fatberg coating could help unclog city sewers

Engineers from RMIT University have invented a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in sewers, notes a press communique from the University in Australia.

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Fat, oil and grease (known as FOG) - notorious for solidifying inside pipes and concrete sewers - causes half of all sewer blockages in the United States and 40% in Australia. The cost of these blockages in terms of maintenance and rehabilitation is estimated at US$25 billion in the US and A$100 million in Australia per year.

It is the mixture of fat, oil and grease with calcium and water in sewers that often leads to the formation of fatbergs. But the team's zincenhanced polyurethane coating offers a promising sustainable solution by reducing the release of calcium from concrete blocks by up to 80% compared with uncoated concrete.

The study led by Dr Biplob Pramanik mimicked a sewer environment under extreme conditions that rapidly sped up the fatberg formation process over 30 days.