Oil skimmer as drum skimmer
Construction
In this skimmer, one or more rollers are mounted on a float, which are partially immersed in the water and thus reach the floating tramp oil. By turning the rollers, the adhering oil is transported to the scraper and collected in a collection container.
Overall, the factors for oil absorption can be summarized as follows:
- The viscosity of the tramp oil (the more viscous, the lower)
- The rotation speed of the drums
- The material of the drum
Application areas of the drum skimmer
Use in rough seas
- The drum skimmer can also be used in waves, but the waves should not be higher than the diameter of the drum.
Use in currents
- According to various manufacturers, it is not possible to use the drum skimmer in currents.
Required water depth
- The water depth should be greater than the immersion depth of the drum skimmer, which is usually very shallow. Shallow waters are also suitable.
- The size and number of drums are suitable for the drum skimmer.
The drum skimmer is used in the event of environmental disasters where oil has entered the water. This skimmer model is often used by the fire department to prevent or limit environmental damage caused by oil in open waters. More about oil skimmers for the fire department here.
The time factor is a decisive feature in the application areas of drum skimmers. The aim is to remove as much oil as possible from the environment in the shortest possible time. Therefore, the correct configuration of system components for the respective application must be taken into account. The aim is to recover large quantities of oil in a short period of time.
Trommelskimmer im Einsatz Video:
Capacities
Due to the large surface area of the drums, a lot of adhering oil can be brought to the scraper. In principle, the drums can hold a lot of oil. The capacity of some models can be increased by connecting several modules to one drum. The drums are suitable for holding oils of different viscosities, although this decreases considerably with heavy oils.
The type of oil affects the selection of components such as pumps or drum types for the drum skimmer. Basically, the types are divided into the following 4 categories:
- Very light oils, such as gasoline or propellants for nozzles
- Light oils such as diesel
- Medium oils such as crude oils
- Heavy oils
Why the drum skimmer is not used for industrial applications
Due to the high absorption capacity, a large proportion of water is also absorbed, which is not desirable in commercial applications. In commercial applications, smaller quantities of tramp oil tend to be separated continuously and more precisely, meaning that other designs are suitable in these cases. In commercial applications, it is important to skim off the tramp oil with as little water (or other liquids such as cooling lubricant) as possible. In the event of accidents where oil escapes, the focus is on rapid removal from the water, even if the proportion of water that is also skimmed off is higher than with other skimmers.
Conclusion
The oil skimmer as a drum skimmer is designed exclusively for use in open water and is used for small, medium and large oil spills in open water.
More about the other types of oil skimmers:
You can find more detailed information on oil skimmers here!