Oil Removal Solutions Blog

Oil Skimming Enhances Environmental Responsibility

If you work in the food and beverage industry, you are likely familiar with the challenges that fat, oil and grease (FOG) buildup presents and the potential costly impact on your wastewater treatment processes and your bottom line.

Removing FOG from water is an important problem to address in all segments of the industry. Oil ends up in wash water and wastewater in each of these applications:

• Farm Equipment - From washdown of machinery and facilities
• Oil extraction - Natural byproduct of the process
• Oil transport - Washing tank trucks
• Oil used for cooking or as an ingredient - Washdown of equipment and facilities
• Fat, oil and grease from meat and fish - Natural byproduct from processing
• Oil from manufacturing containers - Hydraulic oil from machinery
• Canning foods and beverages - Oil from can seamers
• Fat, oil and grease from cooking food for consumption - FOG builds up in grease traps

Learn more about the source of FOG in each of these situations by downloading our free resource, The Complete Guide: Oil Removal Challenges (and Solutions) in the Food Industry.

In the food industry, the question is likely not if you have oil in water, but where and to what extent the problem exists. Read on to learn about the kind of information our oil removal experts seek in order to assess oil-in-water applications and determine proper solutions.

Whether your power plant is coal-fired, gas-fired, hydroelectric or nuclear, petroleum-based products like fuel, hydraulic fluid and lubricating greases and oils are critical to operational success.

Supporting numerous lubricant connections, bearings, hydraulic seals and moving equipment parts, such as pumps, conveyors, feeders, scrubbers, cranes, turbines and more—it’s inevitable that these petroleum-based products will find their way into the process, cooling, or cleaning water that flows throughout a plant—posing operational challenges. 

Typically, this oily or greasy water flows to one of four places within a power plant:

This year marks the 50th anniversary of our company—Oil Skimmers, Inc. For the last five decades, we’ve provided customers in 119 countries with simple, effective and reliable oil removal solutions.

In over 35,000 applications around the world, our products are used to tackle waste oil challenges. By implementing our skimming systems, oil/water separators and oil removal solutions, our customers are able to improve wastewater treatment processes, reduce maintenance costs and lower operational expenses, while simultaneously lessening their environmental impact.

But don’t take our word for it. Below, we’ve curated a few of our favorite customer quotes.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Power Magazine.

Oil skimmers are very effective in removing oil from wastewater before discharge but are also perhaps the most efficient and economical approach.

Despite these advantages, oil skimmers are not found in every power plant. Some plants rely on less-efficient oil removal procedures, failing to recognize that even a single release could cost more money than upgrading a facility to modern oil-skimming equipment.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

With a fleet of 250 tanker trucks—35 of which are used to haul soybean oil—one U.S.-based trucking company is dedicated to thoroughly cleaning its large fleet following transportation jobs. The oil tankers can each haul approximately 48,000 pounds of oil, so when cleaning the tanks, a significant amount of residual oil often mixes with the wash water.

As is common practice in many municipalities, local regulations require the trucking company to remove all residual oil from the wastewater before allowing the wastewater to be discharged into the city sewer system. When the trucking company reassessed their process for doing so, they found glaring inefficiencies.

The age-old idiom that oil and water don’t mix is true, but at some point in most industrial processes they actually do combine. If the oil is not removed, it can cause quite a few adverse affects.

But, thanks to oil skimming technology, we can effectively remove oil from the water’s surface. Doing so, provides economic advantages, improves wastewater treatment processes, extends the life of process liquids, and allows the oil to retain its value for recycling and reuse.

Related read >> Top Business Benefits of Removing Oil from Water

Now, more than ever, we are aware of the environmental consequences of our actions. Both individuals and organizations are dedicated to adhering to ecological rules and regulations designed to mitigate environmental damage.

One of the many problems that environmentalists face is waste oil recycling and disposal.

According to the EPA, “...used oil from one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water — a years’ supply for 50 people!”

Problems mainly arise when used oil isn't properly disposed. Such oil can pollute rivers, harm plants, affect wildlife and seep through the ground, potentially contaminating drinking water. That is why processes that remove excess oil from wastewater, like oil skimming, are so important for running an ecologically friendly business.

When water is used in an industrial process for manufacturing, cooling or washing, it often combines with contaminants (solids, oil, grease, fats, etc.). Before this water can be re-used within your facility or prepared for discharge into the municipal sewer system, it must first be cleaned of the oil.

The infographic below demonstrates four key areas where oil skimming can be leveraged in the wastewater treatment process: