How Exactly Does a Tramp Oil Skimmer Work? | Abanaki

An oil skimmer is a device that uses a belt, tube, or disk placed directly into the product containing oil. The belt, tube, or disk attracts the oil by breaking the surface tension of the water and then runs back to the machine to be wiped clean. If your skimmer is sized right, it will be able to pull the free-floating oil from anywhere in the tank or pit. Oil skimmers should be purchased more by size than by the volume of oil to ensure you are able to skim from the whole surface area.

What Size of Oil Skimmer You Should Purchase?

Oil skimmers operate with a very basic principle. That basic principle is the breaking of surface tension to attract oil to the belt or tube. Because of this design, it is critical to size the oil skimmer according to the surface area being skimmed rather than the amount of oil in the tank.

oil skimming For example, you could have a tank or pit that measure 144 square feet but only contains 2-4 gallons of oil at any particular time. Sizing the oil skimmer according to 2-4 gallons versus the surface area would yield unproductive results. Yes, you may only have small amounts of oil, but if your oil skimmer is undersized, that oil skimmer will not have enough power to break the surface tension with enough force to bring oil from the other side of the tank.

Therefore, you could run the oil skimmer for days and never retrieve the oil from the far side of your collection point. Always take into account how large of an area you want to skim oil from when determining what oil skimmer will work best for your application.

Video: How To Tell What Skimmer You Need For Your Machine Coolant

To learn more about oil skimmers, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.abanaki.com

July 31, 2019

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Typical Applications for Industrial Oil Skimmers | Abanaki

Wastewater Sumps

Most manufacturing or processing facilities have water systems where waste oil collects in a central tank or sump. Skimming the floating oils with little water content can reduce the cost of disposal and lower the contingent liabilities of wastewater discharge.

Coolants and Cutting Fluids

Coolant fluid When machine coolants become contaminated with tramp oils, four things usually occur:

Coolant life is reduced.
Quality of machined parts is reduced.
In many cases, a smoke will begin to appear in the shop, causing irritation to the workers on the job.
The fluid takes on a “rotten egg” odor.

Oil skimmers that remove tramp oils solve these problems and typically pay for themselves within a few months.

Heat Treating

Quench oils that must be removed from heat treated parts can be captured for re-use or disposal. The results are lower quench oil costs, prolonged wash water life and lower disposal costs.

Parts Washers

Floating oils re-contaminate parts as they are removed from a wash tank. Oil skimmers can remove this oil. The benefits of using an oil skimmer are oil free parts and extended fluid life.

Food Processing Facilities

Removal of vegetable oils, greases, and animal fats from a plant’s wastewater stream reduces the costs of processing and disposal.

Steel Mills/Scale Pits

Most steel mills have scale pits in which grease and heavy oils accumulate. In order to avoid fines from the government and expensive sand bed filters, steel mills must limit the amount of grease in wastewater discharged into the environment. Reclaimed grease and oil can be re-used or used as furnace fuel, avoiding sucker truck disposal costs.

Parking Lots, Garages and Service Facilities

Waste oil from leaks, spills and other sources must be retrieved from sumps before water can be discharged to storm or sanitary sewers.

Outdoor Ponds, Lakes, Basins, Etc.

outdoor pond Where floating oils are present, oil skimmers provide inexpensive and effective removal, solving a serious environmental problem.

Recovery/Monitoring Wells

Removing oil, fuel and other hydrocarbon liquid from wells can be more cost-effective using a belt skimmer instead of a down well pump. Oil skimmers don’t have nearly the maintenance issues and can reach depths of 100 feet or more, removing product despite fluctuating water tables. Oil skimmers can handle very thick fluids effortlessly and some (like the Abanaki PetroXtractor®) can remove sinking DNAPL’s such as coal tar and creosote from water.

To learn more about oil skimmers, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.abanaki.com

July 18, 2019

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10 Tips of Effective Oil Skimming | Abanaki

Oil skimmers keep oil out of places it does not belong. Whether this means keeping oil out of coolant to extend tool life, or keeping oil out of wastewater so it isn’t discharged into the environment, a properly functioning skimmer can save you a lagoon full of dollars.

Oil Skimming White Paper

ten tips of oil skimming Because of skimmers’ relative simplicity, it can be easy to overlook important factors when selecting then operating a skimmer so that it can achieve maximum efficiency. Abanaki’s “Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Oil Skimmer” provides essential guidance for skimmer selection and operation. Topics covered include:

Belt material and length selection
Proper positioning of the skimmer
Factors to consider when determining when the skimmer should operate to ensure peak performance

Download your whitepaper now.

To learn more about oil skimmers, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.abanaki.com

June 28, 2019

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6 Types of Oil Skimmers | Belt, Rope, Mop & More | Abanaki

Close-up of an industrial belt oil skimmer showing wiper blades and fluid discharge.

For industrial oil skimming, there are six basic designs commonly used:

Belt Skimmers
Disk Skimmers
Drum/Barrel Styles
Mop Skimmers
Tube Skimmers (Large and Mini)
Floating Suction Skimmers

Check out our Oil Skimming Guide to learn more.

Belt Oil Skimmers

Abanaki Belt oil skimmer Belt-type oil skimmers use an endless belt of corrosion resistant steel or synthetic medium, which is lowered into the tank or vessel to be skimmed. The belt passes through resilient wiper blades where the oil is removed from both sides of the medium.

Belt machines provide a simple, dependable and cost-effective method for removing oil, grease and other hydrocarbons from water.

Disk Oil Skimmers

Abanaki disk oil skimmers These oil skimmers rotate a disk-shaped medium through the liquid. Oil is wiped off and discharged into a collection container in a manner similar to belt oil skimmers. It is important to consider reach, the portion of the disk that actually gets immersed,

when looking at a disk oil skimmer. Less disk in the fluid means less oil removed. Obviously, fluctuating fluids can be a real problem for disk oil skimmers.

Drum/Barrel Styles

These are similar to the disk type, but use a rotating drum shaped medium. Compared to disk types, they are usually more rugged and have higher removal capacity. Depending on the design, these units can also be rendered ineffective by fluctuating fluid levels. Also, water pickup with this type of oil skimmer can be high.

Mop Oil Skimmers

These oil skimmers use an endless medium shaped like a rope and having mop-like tendrils that pick up the oil. As the medium leaves the liquid and enters the drive unit, it is pressed and wrung out with pinch rollers. For higher viscosity oils, the medium tends to mat down and lose effectiveness. A decant system is a must for these units, as water pickup can be very high. Also, replacement oil mops can be very expensive, so check prices on replacements before purchasing.

Tube Skimmers

Large Tube Skimmers

Tube oil skimmers use a floating plastic hose that snakes out over the surface of the liquid and is then drawn back through the drive unit where oil is removed. This design requires a relatively large amount of surface area for proper operation. This oil skimmer can skim from very shallow tanks. As a rule, the removal capacity is lower than belt, drum or mop type oil skimmers. Abanaki Oil Viper floating tube skimmer

Mini Tube

Very similar to the large tube units, but use either a 3/16″ or a 5/16″ tube instead of 1″. The pickup rate varies from 1 quart/hour to 1.5 gph depending on the diameter of the tube. These tube skimmers are fairly compact, and can fit in tight spots. The better units will have the motor mounted underneath, to bring room required over the lip of the tank down to near zero. The 5/16″ diameter tube is preferable as it has a 1 gph removal capacity and enough stiffness to not drag on the housing and prematurely wipe off oil when being drawn into the unit.

Floating Suction Skimmers

These come in several forms, but all have a floating intake. They are most suitable for relatively thick layers of oil (1/4 inch or higher); otherwise, they tend to ingest large amounts of water. Some machines will actually emulsify oil due to churning as it passes through the suction pump. This type of oil skimmer requires a coalescing or at least a decanting unit to be at all effective. The standard drive on all units is an electric motor and gear reducer. Other drive types available.

June 21, 2019