Oil Removal Solutions Blog

Emission control and waste management among top priorities for railroad industry today

On February 28, 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first U.S. railway chartered for commercial transport of passengers and freight. 

Key facts about the first U.S. railway include:

• The Tom Thumb steam engine was designed by Peter Cooper
• The first railroad track was only 13 miles long
• Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, laid the first stone when construction on the track began 

(Source: Library of Congress)

Fast-forward 188 years. 

Here is a snapshot of what the railroad industry looks like today:

• 140,000 miles of railroad track
• 21 regional and 510 local railroads
• 221,000 jobs
• The rail network accounts for approximately 40 percent of U.S. freight moved by ton-miles (the length freight travels).

(Source: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration)

A steady flow of technological innovations in electronics, construction, healthcare and other fields is driving the resurgence of copper mining throughout the world. In Peru alone, copper production jumped nine percent in the first three months of 2014.* Industry observers predict that the demand for copper will continue to grow at a fast clip for at least the next five years.

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.

When the sky cries, that’s a natural phenomenon. But when Nature’s pure water mixes with various types of oil and hydraulic fluids or other contaminants, the result is a man-made problem.

Commonly called stormwater runoff, rainwater will flow wherever it wants once it hits Earth. And this characteristic is what makes water troublesome wherever it encounters oil  – in heavy equipment yards, scrap yards, truck and train terminals, oil and gas operations, shipping docks and the like. Water from various types of wash-down operations will behave the same way. 

Recently, an increasing number of companies in the oil and gas industry’s hydraulic fracturing wastewater disposal business have found employing efficient, low-maintenance oil skimming technology can bring sustained improvements to their bottom lines. We’re talking added monthly profits of $3,000 to $18,000. Sound appealing?

Wastewater disposal companies in Texas, West Virginia and Ohio, who have purchased oil skimmers to recover and sell oil that is present in the hydraulic fracturing wastewater being delivered to their facilities, have capitalized on this new revenue within just 2 to 3 months of using the technology. And, that’s not all. In addition to generating new revenue streams and delivering a nearly immediate return-on-investment, oil skimmers used in wastewater disposal applications also reduce operational costs and increase operational efficiency.

“Fracking.” We are all familiar with the term in one way or another as it’s been one of the most discussed and debated media topics as of late. From articles and news segments with titles such as Fracking Draws Support From Unions As Jobs Flourish, Worrying Environmentalists to A Real American Story: Why the Fracking Revolution Happened Here, the “fracking” or “hydraulic fracturing,” conversation is broad.

And, the business is vast. The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimates that there are more than 1 million fracked wells throughout the U.S. and that roughly 80 percent of natural gas wells drilled in the next decade will rely on the popular and effective shale oil and gas extraction technique. (http://cewc.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ei_shale_gas_regulation120215.pdf)

In steel mills of all types, removing oil from water is a key consideration. The choice you make can help your plant run better and, in some cases, the reclaimed oil can provide a new source of revenue.