A new invention could help reduce fatbergs and unclog sewers across Australia
A new coating for pipes has been shown to reduce the formation of fatbergs – congealed masses of oils, grease and sanitary items in sewers — by up to 30 per cent.
Fatbergs cause about 40 per cent of sewer blockages in Australia, but their chokehold could be drastically reduced with a new invention.
Fatbergs are congealed masses of wet wipes, oils and rubbish that block the sewer system, can grow to ungodly sizes, and cost taxpayers up to $100 million a year.
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Now, a group of engineers from Melbourne's RMIT university have invented a way to potentially reduce blockages in sewers, with a fatberg-busting coating for concrete pipes.
The invention – a zinc-enhanced polyurethane coating – targets calcium, a key contributor to fatberg formation, in the concrete that forms our sewers.
