Oil Removal Solutions Blog

Success Stories: Heavy Equipment and Truck Washdown Facilities

Facilities that wash down heavy equipment or trucks often have to balance several operational priorities at once. For example, ensuring adequate washing of trucks/equipment while reducing operational expenses and meeting environmental standards.

For many, this balancing act can seem daunting; however, it doesn’t have to be. The following two companies with heavy equipment and truck washdown facilities recently found that they were able to meet all of their priorities with the assistance of a tube-type oil skimming system. 

A North American railway that prides itself on environmental responsibility recently worked with an engineering firm to design a new wastewater treatment facility for one of its refueling stations in British Columbia. The design challenge required a careful balance of meeting the railway’s commitment to environmental sustainability, while still being able to operate in severe weather conditions – even temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

A balancing act

Railroad refueling stations often service hundreds of locomotives per day – and it can take 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel to refuel just one locomotive. While preventative and precautionary measures are in place to manage fuel spills, spills do occur. Additionally, when locomotives aren’t in motion, like when they stop to get fuel, they commonly leak oil. Because of these factors, having a collection system in place to manage spills is essential.

Without proper collection systems, spilled fuel and leaking oil can quickly become an issue for railroads – especially from an environmental standpoint. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Canadian Environmental Protection Agency have regulations aimed at preventing the contamination of water and soil during fueling.

With this in mind, the engineering firm knew it needed an effective oil-removal solution that would not only alleviate environmental concerns, but also meet the railway’s unique operational needs.

Chemical plants that manufacture or otherwise process chemicals (on a large-scale) face unique challenges when it comes to wastewater management. While the equipment, technology and processes used at chemical plants varies, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act requires plants to meet certain performance standards aimed at water pollution prevention and treatment.

Under the Act, the EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as establishing wastewater standards that require wastewater to be virtually free of oil and other contaminants. Chemical plants that don’t meet these standards can face large fines—up to $53,000 per day in some cases—making compliance, essential.

In industrial machining and grinding operations, metalworking fluids are used to reduce heat and friction and remove metal particles. Fluids can be water-based, including soluble oils and semisynthetic fluids, oil-based, such as petroleum oils, or a mixture containing anything from oils, emulsifiers and anti-weld agents to corrosion inhibitors and biocides, among others.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are 1.2 million workers in the U.S. in metalworking and metal-forming operations who may be exposed to metalworking fluids. Exposure can happen by skin contact during parts and equipment handling or by breathing aerosols generated during grinding and machining operations.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), states occupational exposures to metalworking fluids may cause several health conditions, including:

• Allergic and contact dermatitis
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic bronchitis, impaired lung function, asthma, and other respiratory issues 

What can employers do?

The global demand for beverage cans will increase between two and three percent in 2015, according to a recent forecast by Alcoa, one of the world’s leading suppliers of aluminum canstock.

With the number of cans rolling off production lines fast approaching one-half trillion a year, canmakers are constantly challenged to optimize their plant operations. Each step of can manufacturing – from drawing and ironing to curing and finishing – offers opportunity for improvement. But let’s look at one element in particular that can make a huge difference in can quality and plant efficiency:  oil removal.

We just got back from the recent Shale Water Expo in Houston. This was the first conference and exhibition in the United States to focus on the natural gas drilling industry’s biggest issue:  water.

Water management is on everybody’s mind these days. Water, the high-cost, high-volume component in hydraulic fracturing, is more than just an operating expense. It has become an item of public concern that’s in the news every day. Not surprisingly, one conference panel featured a water engineer, hydrogeologist, recycling advocate, and regulators from the Texas Railroad Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality. Presentations by environmental experts, academics, industry thought leaders and entrepreneurs rounded out this timely summit.