How North West companies unite to save sewers

by Eco Clarity | Feb 19, 2025

Eco Clarity’s fat-to-fuel technology is helping to keep the region clean by stopping fatbergs forming in our sewers and creating an environmentally friendly biodiesel instead.

According to The Flood Hub, every year in the north-west, there are 28,000 avoidable sewer blockages – largely due to the incorrect flushing of unsuitable objects like wet wipes and the incorrect disposal of fat, oil and grease (known as FOG) down kitchen sinks.

The build-up of these items results in a rock-hard blockage, that continues to grow, sometimes known as a fatberg.

Andy Peet, Wastewater Network Protection Manager for United Utilities said: “FOG buildup in the drains is an ongoing issue for the business. Along with rag and wipes, these blocked drains cost United Utilities over £3.5m a year to sort out.

United Utilities have also installed orange bins across its headquarters site in Warrington for staff to bring in and recycle FOG from their homes, doing their bit to help the environment and keep it out of the drains. Around 360 litres of FOG have been collected so far for recycling into biodiesel.

“One of our large tankers (also known as Water on Wheels) does, on average, eight miles per gallon or 1.76 miles per litre – so we’d be able to travel around 630 miles – enough to just about get us to from our Lingley Mere site to Balmoral Castle and back.

“Staff at United Utilities are doing their bit for a greener future, and we hope that over time we’ll be able to build on the success of this project and continue working with Eco Clarity to repurpose FOG into biofuel.”

Eco Clarity’s North West FOG Recovery Hub

Eco Clarity, an award-winning green technology company, has recently opened a new recovery hub in Stockport, processing FOG from across north-west England.

“This innovative partnership demonstrates how collaboration between businesses and utilities can effectively address environmental challenges across the region. We are the only facility in the north-west focused on converting FOG waste into renewable biodiesel,” explained Laura Su, Eco Clarity’s business development manager.

“Eco Clarity’s technology takes a waste product and transforms it into something useful, reducing the risk of fatbergs and sewage pollution.”

Eco Clarity works with restaurants and food businesses across the region to dispose of their fat, oil and grease waste responsibly. The company’s chemical-free system separates out clean water, so it can be reused or safely returned to nature, and the leftover FOG waste is sent to its partner to be turned into clean energy instead of blocking sewers or being dumped in landfills.

Argent Energy – Where FOG feedstock is transformed into sustainable biodiesal

Argent Energy, based in Ellesmere Port, converts the recovered FOG into valuable waste-based biodiesel, a renewable alternative to fossil fuel diesel that helps reduce CO₂ emissions

“Working alongside Eco Clarity allows us to play a crucial role in closing the loop on FOG waste in the north west by turning problematic waste into a valuable renewable fuel,” said Jan Jaap Rodenburg, Head of Commercial at Argent Energy. “This partnership highlights the power of collaboration, and we’re excited to be part of a solution that benefits the environment, communities, and the regional economy.”

The north of England is increasingly recognised as a powerhouse in innovation, sustainability and economic growth, and this regional collaboration showcases the power of local innovation.

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Eco-Clarity Works with Argent on Decarbonisation

by Chris Clemes | Aug 23, 2022

TRANSFORMING WASTEWATER INTO VALUABLE FEEDSTOCK FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH-QUALITY BIODIESEL AT ARGENT

The latest Eco Clarity Waste Conversion Hub has been set up in the UK, at Argentâ€™s site in Stanlow, Ellesmere Port. Eco Clarity is focused on revolutionising the way wastewater is handled by turning the process from one of disposal, into one of conversion into effectively clean water, by filtering out beneficial oil residues which can then go on to be used as raw material for the production of biodiesel.

HOW ECO-CLARITY WORKS

Eco-Clarity has created a patented technology solution that easily collects and separates fat, oils and grease (FOG) from waste water through an efficient and fully automatic hub system made up of three scalable containers.

The system enables FOG to be separated before it enters the water system and becomes problematic. The cleaned water is then being reused or safely returned to the waste stream. In turn, the successfully separated FOG becomes a sustainable raw material that can be used to produce second-generation biodiesel.

A standard Eco Clarity hub can handle 10 tonnes of FOG containing waste water in 10 minutes, which can then go on to be separated and harvested within 30 minutes. The hubâ€™s efficient system currently uses just 25% of the energy typically used in similar processes, with temperatures never exceeding 60 degrees to ensure a low energy consumption.

VALUABLE FEEDSTOCK RESULTS

The oil recovered goes up from 5% to 98% concentration after going through the Eco Clarity system, turning it into a desirable raw material for biodiesel production.

Eco Clarity is transforming the wastewater disposal process by extracting a valuable raw material whilst improving the water quality that is being disposed of.

PRODUCTION AT ARGENT

The first tonnes of biodiesel made from the FOG from the EcoClarity hub has been produced. By turning the feedstock into second-generation biodiesel, a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel, this material will go on to reduce GHG emissions by around 90%, having a direct impact on the worldâ€™s carbon footprint.

Argent always aims to accept a wide range of highly de-graded waste fats, oils and greases to give them a new purpose as high quality biodiesel to help towards the decarbonisation of transport, among other industries.

Through Eco Clarity and Argent Energy, valuable renewable resources have been created from materials that may otherwise have ended up discarded.

Source: Argent Energy

Eco Clarity works with Argent on decarbonisation

CASE STUDY DEC 2020: Grease Trap Waste Consolidation Hub

by Chris Clemes | Jan 29, 2021

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Netherlands has an established practice of Grease Trap Waste (GTW) collection from collection points in the catering industry. GTW contains a significant portion of oils and fats that can, if adequately separated be used to produce biodiesel. Logistics costs and water effluent management are a main components in the optimisation of GTW collection and processing.

THE PARTIES:

Eco ClarityÂ a privately owned waste to energy service provider, established in 2013, which has developed a patented modular and scalable technology, for the efficient and cost-effective disposal of Grease Trap Waste (GTW). The company has spent almost a decade developing breakthrough technology to transform the wastewater handling process from one of disposal, into a focus of conversion into beneficial feedstocks and clean water.

Argent Energy is a privately owned waste-based biodiesel producer. Established in 2001 and acquired in 2013 by John Swire & Sons (Green Investments) Ltd., Argent Energy has operations in Scotland, England and, since 2018, in The Netherlands. Their biodiesel facility at Ellesmere Port in England pioneered sophisticated pretreatment facilities enabling it to accept a wide range of highly de-graded waste fats, oils and greases before processing them into high-quality biodiesel for the decarbonisation of transport, as well as other industries.

Quick and easy offload of grease trap waste into the consolidation hub

THE SOLUTION

Eco-Clarity Ltd, has developed a â€œHubâ€ solution for the GTW separation that is efficient, fully automatic and has a small footprint in physical and energy consumption terms. Eco Clarity and Argent Energy have a shared belief that GTW collection and processing industry wide can improve significantly. Although they are not a fats collector, Argent Energy has enabled Eco Clarity to run trials of its new technology solution at their site in Amsterdam to help demonstrate the reliability and decarbonisation value of this route to biodiesel for processed fats.

During the trial, GTW collected from the Amsterdam region is discharged and separated at the Argent facility, producing a fraction of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) for biodiesel production. Suspended solids are fed to bio gas production and the waste water has a significantly reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD).

Eco Clarityâ€™s Hubs have a small footprint of 10m2, made up of an automated Huber solids screen, two 20â€™ foot treatment containers, and a 20 foot FOG post processing and storage container.

A standard Eco Clarity GTW Hub, is capable of accepting 10 tonnes of GTW in 10 minutes, with a further 10 tonne truck each 15-20 minutes thereafter. Being automated the system is able to receive waste 24/7. With a quick setup, the Eco Clarity GTW Conversion Hub was ready to process waste within 3 days of delivery.

RESULTS AND BENEFITS

From first 320 tonnes of waste accepted at the Hub, Eco Clarity was able to harvest 30 tonnes of concentrated FOG and FOG containing solids, as a feedstock for biodiesel production, analysis shows that there is 99.99% reduction of FOG within the discharge effluent and an average 30% reduction in COD, with a PH of between 4 to 5.

Average Effluent Results
PH	4.8
COD	9158.3	mg/l
Sulphate	158.8	mg/l
Phosphate	91.3	mg/l

Â The above table shows the average effluent results, after treatmentÂ

The ratio of GTW to de-watered FOG depends on the volume of FOG within the GTW load and where the trucks have collected that day. Some loads may have low volume of less than 2-3% whilst others have as much as 20%.

Within two weeks of operating, Eco Clarity were accepting all the daily loads from the 5 x trucks and during slow periods have started on the processing of materials stored in the local storage tank.

The plant accepts 20 tonnes of GTW per hour and has processed GTW 24/7 when in automated mode.Â Maximum power consumption when accepting waste is 40kWh, and when in maintenance and harvesting mode it is aproximately 5kWh.