Oil skimmer
Oil skimmer
(OP)
Hello !
I have a question for you :
We are adding an oily water storage tank in our facilities, and I want to implement a skimming way of removing the oil phase that will form at the surface of my tank.
Do you have any recommandation ? A floating skimmer inside the tank with an interface detection / a system of valves at different levels to check the phases and manually purge, etc...???
Thank you !
Daniel
I have a question for you :
We are adding an oily water storage tank in our facilities, and I want to implement a skimming way of removing the oil phase that will form at the surface of my tank.
Do you have any recommandation ? A floating skimmer inside the tank with an interface detection / a system of valves at different levels to check the phases and manually purge, etc...???
Thank you !
Daniel





RE: Oil skimmer
The easiest skimmer is a pipe which rotates and has a slot cut in it. As the oil floats higher than the water it can be easily controlled on a level surface and only the oil flows in. The weir level on the far side of the baffle will allow water to flow over it, but as the oil thickness increases, the oil flows into the slot due to the different density of the oil and water. - look at a few diagrams and you'll figure it out...
My motto: Learn something new every day
Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way
RE: Oil skimmer
thank you for your answer but I think I didn't make myself understood : the storage tank where I want to have this oil purge would be located upstream my API oil water separator.
As I can not control very well the quality of my water, sometimes there will be a lot of oil coming along, way above what my API separator can accept. That is why I want to remove the layer of oil that will form at the surface of my storage tank beforehand, with a device like this one for example :
http://www.mesarubber.com/oil-skimmer-pontoon.htm
But Iis this method reliable ? Are there other ways more often used in the industry...??
Thank you !
Daniel
RE: Oil skimmer
RE: Oil skimmer
Yes that would be one solution. But are there any alternative ? What are the best pratices of the industry for skimming an oil phase at the surface of an oily water tank ?
Thank you !!
RE: Oil skimmer
RE: Oil skimmer
RE: Oil skimmer
what you would normally do in this case is use a three phase or in this case probably two phase separator where you control the level of total liquid and also control the level of the oil water interface level. What you do is create a baffle in your horizontal vessel with the initial section as long as you can make it which then has a nozzle in the base - which is your water outflow to your oily water separator. you control this outflow based on the height of the oil / water interface. This height needs to be lower than the height of your baffle plate.
The nozzle on the floor behind the baffle, the height of which is up to you, depending on the relative flow of water and oil, is your oil outlet and is controlled on overall liquid level.
The trick is to size your outflow nozzles and control valves such that they can handle the max flow of either water or oil without affecting the level too much. similarly the size of your separator is important to provide enough residence time to allow sufficient separation (2-3 mins min) and also to allow variances in flow to not affect the level too much.
My motto: Learn something new every day
Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way
RE: Oil skimmer
regards,
Daniel
RE: Oil skimmer
RE: Oil skimmer
If you are concerned about overwhelming your normal API separator this would simplify things rather than skimmers etc. It is a little odd, but if it does the job then design it right and it should do your job.
My motto: Learn something new every day
Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way