ABANAKI OIL
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How to Increase Oil Removal Rates In Steel Mills | Abanaki

Posted by Tom Hobson on Oct 26, 2021 9:17:13 AM

Industrial wastewater pits are treacherous. Nasty, bubbling, caustic black ooze swirling about in water is something nightmares are made of. The thought of having to remove all of that nasty seems like a daunting task and for some plant operators, it is. Keeping the wastewater clean is crucial for steel mills.

Contaminated water can result in sludge formation, producing environments for bacteria to grow and thrive, the production of rust and corrosion, and a list of other horrific things that will cause pain and misery to the equipment and application as a whole. Some facilities just need to keep the wastewater clean, while others need to keep it clean and reclaim the used oil. It’s a big job to take on and not all oil skimmers are cut out for the challenge.

Oil Removal Problems in Big Tanks

We had a customer contact us about a steel mill operation that didn’t seem to be running as it should. We visited the location to get a better understanding of what was going right or wrong. The company was using a competitor’s tube skimmer and this particular model was just not able to handle the grime and muck in a manner that was productive for the operators. The oil removal rates were low and recovery of the waste oil was not as efficient as they were hoping.

These are big tanks that need a big oil skimmer to tackle the jobs at hand, both cleaning the wastewater and a way to reclaim used oil. After going over the specifications of the tanks and getting a better understanding of what kind of results the plant operators were trying to achieve, we knew that the operation would benefit immensely from implementing a Model MB Oil Grabber.

Abanaki Model MB Oil Grabber

The Model MB utilizes continuous belts and wipers to remove up to 200 gallons of oil per hour from the fluid surface. The belts, operating on a motor and pulley system, run through contaminated liquid to pick up oil from the surface. After traveling over the head pulley, the belts pass through tandem wiper blades where oil is scraped off both sides of each belt and discharged. The tail pulleys have flanges which allow them to roll freely on the inside of the belts without becoming dislodged. These lower pulleys require no bearings and do not need to be fastened to the tank. If turbulent conditions exist, an optional tether and cage assembly prevents the tail pulleys from being dislodged.

The Model MB was designed for applications like this. When removal capacities are not being achieved in an application, you bring out the heavy-duty equipment. The Model MB is available in multiples of 2, 3, or 5 belts. Wastewater sumps, coolant sumps, outdoor lakes, ponds, or basins, underground tanks, food processing plants, parking lots, garages, service facilities, truck, locomotive, and other mobile equipment washing stations have all benefited from using the Model MB as a wastewater cleaning system.

This skimmer was built to last for years in harsh environments. It can handle temperatures up to 212°F and in pH levels ranging from 1-13. The belts are made up of corrosion-resistant steel, carbon steel, or a specially engineered polymer. The Model MB requires very little space in the tank or sump, easily mounts, and requires very little maintenance.

After replacing the former skimmers with the Model MB, the company reported the recovery rates are 4x higher than before. 


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



 

Abanaki Model MB Oil Grabber In Operation

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Topics: removal rates, model mb, industrial wastewater

Abanaki Specializes in Refinery Oil Skimmer Technology

Posted by Tom Hobson on Jan 24, 2019 2:05:56 PM

Refineries are capable of producing gasoline, jet fuel, or even asphalt and, like most large-scale high capacity plants, require process optimization and advanced process controls.

Oil skimming is a popular method for capturing and removing oil from wastewater in plant treatment systems. This process is mandatory to avoid fines and to produce fuel as economically and environmentally friendly as possible. Abanaki Corporation has successfully specialized in refinery oil skimmer technology for over 40 years. 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 hydrocarbon liquids from the surface of the fluid. Abanaki belt skimmers can be used in applications as deep as 100 feet.

By implementing an oil skimming solution, the goal to recapture 100% of all hydrocarbons before they go down the drain, can be achieved. The oil skimmer collects the bulk of the hydrocarbons and sends them back to a crude tank. Any residual oils can be removed through filtration or chemical treatment. The oil skimmer is operated 24 hours a day 7 days a week. A refinery oil skimmer requires very little oversight, no maintenance, and the time saved more than offsets the electrical costs.

The Model 8 oil skimmer is the most widely used Abanaki oil skimmer. Its size and removal capacity make it suitable for most applications. From a mere shimmer on top of water to a heavy oil slick, the Model 8 oil skimmer performs efficiently, removing up to 40 gallons of oil per hour.

The new solar-powered version of Abanaki’s popular Model 8 Oil Skimmer is available. It removes oil at up to 40 gph, where electrical power is unavailable or inconvenient.

The Abanaki Model MB oil skimmer is a dependable and effective means of removing oil from water and water-base solutions. Often, oil skimming by itself will reduce oil to an acceptable level of water purity. Depending on the characteristics of the liquid, it is possible for the Model MB alone to reduce oil content to less than five parts per million in water. The unit can be used as a pretreatment before filtration, and in conjunction with a coalescing system.

The Model 4 oil skimmer utilizes a continuous belt and wiper to remove up to 20 gallons of oil per hour from the fluid surface.

Depending on the application, a belt skimmer such as the units described above can be used or a tube skimmer like the Oil Viper would be another viable solution.  The Abanaki Oil Viper tube skimmer is a surface oil skimmer that effectively removes floating surface oils by means of an oleophilic (oil attracting) 3/4 inch diameter continuous looped tube. The tube extends out over the surface of the tank or pit and collects the free floating oils.

The Oil Viper has a specially designed method for removing the oil from the tube. It has a unique wiper combination attached to the tube itself in addition to the ceramic wiper on the skimmer. The result is a virtually oil free tube as it leaves the oil skimmer for quicker oil removal. Removal rates can be as high as one hundred gallons per hour. It can be used in either shallow tanks or reservoirs.

To find out which of our skimmers would suit your application the best, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400, or click the button below to get our most detailed resource E-Book on our oil skimming equipment.

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Topics: refinery oil skimmer, model 4, model 8, oil skimmer, wastewater skimmer, refinery, industrial Wastewater treatment, model mb

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