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Abanaki was recently consulted about the use of oil skimmers in a fracking operation in PA. Fracking, also known has hydraulic fracturing, is a procedure widely used by natural gas drillers in which water, sand and chemicals are forced at high pressure into the ground to break up shale rock formations, thereby causing the discharge of trapped natural gas.

A typical fracture treatment normally consists of 98.0-99.5 percent water and sand while the balance is made up of chemical additives that depend on the components of the water and the shale formation being fractured. In order to fracture one producing well, millions of gallons of water are used. There has been growing concern with the disposition of the 20-40 percent of flowback that picks up other contaminants as it returns to the surface.

Our salesman, John, told the operations manager that the Model 8 oil skimmer would help remove the trace amounts of oil that was found in the wastewater before they disposed of it. Abanaki's oil skimmers provide an environmentally responsible way of removing oil from water. Oil skimmers work by making use of the differences in specific gravity and surface tension between oil and water. These physical characteristics allow the belts to attract oil and other floating hydrocarbon liquids from the surface of the fracking wastewater. The contaminants are then scraped off the sides of the belt and discharged into a collection container. Abanaki belt oil skimmers can be used in applications as deep as 100 feet and can be operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. An oil skimmer requires very little oversight, no maintenance, and is very cost effective due to low energy requirements.

The operations manager decided on using 4 Model 8 oil skimmers at the different wells on the site and has reported that they are working efficiently and helping to get the job done.

To learn more about how oil skimmers work in fracking applications and the different types of oil skimmers than can be used, click the photo below.