Oil Skimming Cleans Up Contaminated Groundwater
Chemviron Midwest, Inc. an industrial consulting and remediation firm in Wooster, Ohio frequently needs to recover hydrocarbons from the surrounding groundwater.
Typical situations include remedial studies, soil contamination, groundwater studies, removing oil from water, environmental compliance, permitting applications, and environmental site assessments during property transfers.
Because of the variety of situations encountered, the firm wanted a highly flexible recovery tool, preferably one that would be portable.
Chemviron Selects the Abanaki PetroXtractor
After weighing the advantages and disadvantages of passive methods vs. active pump systems, Chemviron selected a PetroXtractor® active belt skimmer from Abanaki Corporation.
Since the installation, Chemviron has been successfully oil skimming at several different service stations. Most recently, the firm used the belt skimmer at a retail service station in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The skimmer was part of an interim corrective action required by the State Fire Marshal’s office, who oversees U.S. EPA-mandated cleanup programs. The station has a 1,000-gallon underground holding tank for used motor oil. Oil, either from the tank or from nearby dumping, had leaked into the backfill and the soil surrounding the tank, contaminating the surrounding groundwater. During remediation, the PetroXtractor recovered one to two gallons of oil daily.
Chemviron plans to use the skimmer to keep recovering oil-based hydraulic fluids found at service stations and garage sites. Additionally, they may use oil skimming as a preemptive strategy to improve FOG removal from wastewater in auto-service shop wash bay sumps. With adequate hydrocarbon removal, it’s possible for sump fluid to be drained into municipal sewer systems. If not, skimming could still be a crucial part of recycling the fluid, helping to eliminate the costs and liabilities of fluid disposal.
DOWNLOAD PETROXTRACTOR® BROCHURE
Edited for length: Published in Environmental Protection
