A pioneering bid to retrieve valuable biopolymers from sewage sludge is set to take shape near Blackburn.

Work is about to get underway at the Blackburn Wastewater Treatment Works, in Samlesbury, on the process as part of regulator Ofwat's Innovation Fund.

Three years ago new aerobic granular sludge technology known as Nereda was installed at the Cuerdale Lane plant by the Dutch firm Royal HaskoningDHV.

It uses 50 per cent less electricity than conventional processes to purify wastewater.

Under the new initiative, Kaumera extraction technology is added so the remaining sludge, as well as sludges from other plants, can be harvested for biopolymers, creating a gel.

This substance, which can retain water but also repel it, can then be deployed in a host of industrial, agricultural, and water-related applications, from fertilisers to curing concrete.

Paul Lavender, UK water utilities director at Royal HaskoningDHV, said: "Biogas is already extracted from sewage sludge but adding the recovery of useful biopolymers moves the industry higher up the value chain – it’s potentially game-changing.

“The global liquid polymer market is worth $1.27 trillion annually and is highly fossil fuel dependent.

"Yet the nation’s water treatment plants offer us a natural source of biopolymers.

"This new pilot project won’t just demonstrate the extraction technology but will develop use cases by involving the whole supply chain including academia, commercial product developers, and blue-chip end-users.”

Lisa Mansell, innovation chief engineer for United Utilities, added: "This project will explore the recovery of biopolymers such as those from cellulose in toilet paper to naturally derived biopolymers and will be a great example of a circular economy.

"It will also test the viability of generating new revenue streams which could help us drive down our operating costs and ultimately benefit customers.

"We are very excited about exploring the possibilities of circular wastewater treatment technologies and applications for a more sustainable future.”

Other water companies, industrial partners and Glasgow Caledonian and Cranfield universities are partners in the scheme.

Supporters say if it is successful the pilot project could radically change the economics of wastewater treatment and enable water companies to generate revenue streams from the extraction of natural bio-chemicals.