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.