Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: MillCreek on September 13, 2017, 12:21:31 PM

Title: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: MillCreek on September 13, 2017, 12:21:31 PM
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/12/550465000/behold-the-fatberg-london-s-130-ton-rock-solid-sewer-blockage?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170913

I wonder if this is a nightmare or an interesting engineering problem for the removal crews.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: MechAg94 on September 13, 2017, 12:52:17 PM
Wouldn't very hot water or steam take care of it?  Maybe some good solvents?

Not as much fun as explosives, but better than digging it out.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: 230RN on September 13, 2017, 01:04:09 PM
I wonder how much of this is due to water-saving techniques in GB.  I know a couple of cities in the U.S. have had to add water to their sewer systems to keep the stuff flowing properly.

Ed Norton, where are you when we need you?

Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: zxcvbob on September 13, 2017, 01:04:50 PM
Wouldn't very hot water or steam take care of it?  Maybe some good solvents?

Not as much fun as explosives, but better than digging it out.

High-pressure water jets will cut granite.  Hot water jets should slice that to pieces easily without needing extreme pressure equipment or solvents or a lot of drama.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: MillCreek on September 13, 2017, 01:13:12 PM
A few years back, my wife and I toured the Brightwater sewage treatment plant in south Snohomish county, to see our $ 100/month sewer bill in action.  The tour guide made a big point about flushing wet wipes down the toilet and dumping oil/liquid grease into the sink was the bane of their existence, and they had elaborate traps to try and separate this out from the waste stream before it started the biological/chemical sewage treatment.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: AJ Dual on September 13, 2017, 01:28:54 PM
Wouldn't very hot water or steam take care of it?  Maybe some good solvents?

Not as much fun as explosives, but better than digging it out.

Heat would work, assuming you divert and capture the runoff. Because otherwise if you melt it down and just let it continue on down the sewer, you'll have the same problem again in just a few hundred meters further down.

Personally, I'd love to have a high concentration spray of Sodium Hydroxide, and just saponify the fat away. And you'd get a two-fer, all the soap suds would clean the sewer downstream too.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: zxcvbob on September 13, 2017, 01:50:32 PM
It's probably already partially saponified into calcium soap.  That's why it's so concrete-like.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: HeroHog on September 13, 2017, 05:37:50 PM
From what I read, the issue isn't breaking it up, it is capturing and hauling the tons of it all off so it doesn't get washed farther down the system just to solidify yet again.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: 230RN on September 13, 2017, 05:54:19 PM
General searchy piddling around on greasy stuff and whatnot; a result:

https://youtu.be/DU4dJm-nLoc (1:25)

:rofl:
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: Sindawe on September 13, 2017, 06:27:50 PM
From what I read, the issue isn't breaking it up, it is capturing and hauling the tons of it all off so it doesn't get washed farther down the system just to solidify yet again.

Does Great Briton not have any immigrants from SE Asia?  I'm sure some of the more disreputable of them could take of that mess right quick (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil) and make a profit selling it back to the pubs and fish & chip joints.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: freakazoid on September 13, 2017, 08:22:48 PM
Quote
It's also worth noting that there is a "Bin it – don't block it" campaign to discourage flushing the types of waste that form fatbergs.

I'm assuming "Bin it" means throw it away. Is "block it" their way of saying flush it?
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: Hawkmoon on September 13, 2017, 08:40:08 PM
I'm assuming "Bin it" means throw it away. Is "block it" their way of saying flush it?

The Brits don't have "waste baskets" -- they have "rubbish bins."
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: Firethorn on September 13, 2017, 10:34:22 PM
I'm assuming "Bin it" means throw it away. Is "block it" their way of saying flush it?

Bin it - throw it in the garbage bin.

don't block it - don't block up the sewer by flushing it.
Title: Re: Behold the Fatberg!
Post by: freakazoid on September 13, 2017, 11:18:05 PM
don't block it - don't block up the sewer by flushing it.

I see. I was thinking afterwards that maybe they meant it in that way.