Oil Removal Solutions Blog

For 50 years, Oil Skimmers, Inc. has designed and developed oil skimmers, oil removal systems, and custom engineered solutions for over 35,000 applications in all industries, in 119 countries around the world.

Our company's founder invented the tube type oil skimmer to ensure efficient, effective oil removal in any application, small or large. Five decades later, we offer a full line of industrial oil removal equipment as well as custom engineering capabilities to meet every oil removal need.

The original Brill tube type oil skimmer remains a very important and versatile element of our product line, and is still one of the best methods available to remove oil from industrial process water and wastewater. Its design, rugged construction, durability, versatility, efficiency, and effectiveness is unsurpassed.

Small Spills = Large Problems: A Look into Fueling Best Practices for the Railroad Industry

Fact – fuel contains toxic substances. Thus, fuel spills can have a decidedly negative impact on the environment. Specifically, with regard to diesel fuel use in the transportation industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has strict regulations in place to help prevent the contamination of water and soil during fueling.

Companies that encounter frequent or consistent refueling, like those in the railroad industry, need to take precautionary measures to both minimize and manage spills when they occur. According to the Transportation Environmental Resource Center (TERC), these companies should consider the following three-pronged approach:

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.

This Oil Skimmers, Inc. customer has been a producer of highly refined mineral oils for more than a century. The company’s white oil products, which are used in the formulation of lotions, creams, ointments and hand cleansers, require large amounts of water to make. The oily water from the refining process, along with tank washdowns and runoff, adds up to a substantial wastewater challenge. In an effort to improve its wastewater treatment process and increase overall plant efficiency, the company compared different oil skimmers. 

How Did We Do It?

Service

The sales, engineering and operations teams at Oil Skimmers, Inc. all worked together to devise a customized solution that met the customer’s stringent commercial and technical requirements. With Oil Skimmers, Inc., customers are not only guaranteed the very best in oil skimming technology, they are also provided superior customer service. When possible, we meet with our customers and visit their facilities. And, we always make it our mission to help solve their issues, address their challenges and devise solutions that will meet their individual needs.

“Our ability to design, build and ship 23 custom oil skimmers halfway around the word in just 120 days was a record for our company – and vital to the customer,” said President Mike Gaudiani, Oil Skimmers, Inc. “It was a challenge happily accepted and met.” 

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?

Oil skimmer reduces cost, increases performance and decreases material waste

Food manufacturers are tasked with managing oil in the wastewater from their manufacturing processes on an ongoing basis. 

Recently, a privately-held snack food manufacturer that produces potato chips established a goal to increase chip production by 20 percent. However, increasing production also meant increasing the amount of cooking oil discharged into the wastewater from washing the fryers used to cook the chips. As one of the largest water consumers within its municipality—discharging an average of 180,000 gallons per day—the potato chip plant needed to cost-effectively and efficiently remove the cooking oil from its wastewater to remain compliant with the municipality’s wastewater regulations.

Turn captured oil into captured revenue

In the steel manufacturing industry, waterborne oil is a pervasive issue. Mill managers, maintenance managers and process engineers are under pressure to keep facilities up and running, and on budget. However, the nature of steel manufacturing poses its own unique set of challenges for effective oil removal. It’s a high capital, continuous process that’s tough on equipment and uses large amounts of water. Effectively removing oil from water not only helps plants run better overall—it can pay off in many ways. Consider these four top benefits of removing oil from water and coolant fluid during steel manufacturing processes: