Lindberg Heat Treating Company Reduces Quench Oil Contamination by 70% with Abanaki Oil Removal
A Model 8 Oil Grabber Success Story
There are eight Model 8 oil skimmers installed at the Lindberg Heat Treating Company’s Rockford, Il plant. In use on heated spray wash tanks, the skimmers have enabled the company to recover 70% of quench oils from their washing solution and actively aid the efforts of their energy conservation program.
For Mr. James Reb, Plant Engineer for Lindberg Heat Treating Company, Rockford Division, the recovery and recirculation of 70% of the quench oils in use is considered an exceptionally high level of efficiency. He reported that the oil skimmers have become a vital step in the company’s energy conservation program for the recovery of quench oil, which was previously discarded.
Model 8 Oil Grabber in a customer application.
“In addition to saving more than two-thirds of the quench oil cost,” Mr. Reb said, “Lindberg has saved countless hours of downtime formerly required to clean out their washer tanks every week. The tanks now run continuously for several months without requiring any maintenance.” The Lindberg plant in Rockford, Illinois, has eight oil skimmers in operation on washer tanks. Their Norwood, MA plant utilizes three, and there is one oil skimmer in use at each of at Lindberg’s plants in West Allis, WI and Minneapolis, MN. All of these oil skimmers are equipped with 8˝corrosion-resistant stainless-steel belts that carry out oil removal at rates of up to 32gph.
Oil skimmers operate on the principle that oil is attracted to and will thus adhere to metal better than water; the endless metal belt draws oily wastes up out of the liquid being cleaned, over the head pulley, and past wiper blades that scrape oils from both sides of the belt. Recovered oil then drains into a trough and finally flows to a collecting tank or drum.
A vital part of the Model 8’s operation is the head pulley’s ability to drive the belt without interfering with waste oil present on both sides of the belt. Because belts are available in almost any length (and the tail pulley is free riding), the skimmer can he furnished to accommodate any height requirement.
The Oil Grabber® Model 8’s oil removal capacity ranges from 32 to 160gph, depending on the number of 8˝ belts on the unit. It is also available with a heating component for use in external applications or anywhere low/ambient temperatures tend to solidify oily wastes. For applications with high alkaline or high acid solutions (pH 1 to pH 14), units can be configured with special belt materials to withstand these conditions.
