The history of the oil skimmer

Table of contents

In the context of industrialization, it became increasingly important in the last century to introduce measures to protect the environment and solutions for the resource-saving handling of auxiliary and raw materials. This led to the development of techniques for separating oils and fats from other liquids in the field of light fluids.

It is not really possible to speak of a history of the oil skimmer. However, there are various mechanical processes that make it possible to remove floating liquids and thus separate them from water or coolants, for example. This separation is made possible by oil separators or oil skimmers. There are several advantages associated with this in industry:

Economic advantages

The reusability of coolants, for example, increases their service life, which leads to a reduction in costs and is also a desirable goal in terms of sustainability.

Ecological advantages

The environmental protection measures introduced in recent decades have been significantly tightened so that pre-treatment of water contaminated with oil or grease must not be discharged into the public sewer system. As a result, oil skimmers in a wide variety of designs have established themselves as a standard process in industries where the undesirable mixing of water and oil occurs.

Environmental disasters

Special oil skimmers are also used in environmental disasters, such as tanker accidents that lead to oil spills in the oceans, or by the fire department in similar smaller accidents. On the one hand, protective regulations and better monitoring measures mean that this form of environmental pollution occurs less frequently and, on the other hand, a much more effective response is possible in the event of a disaster. Fortunately, major disasters such as tanker accidents have decreased significantly in recent decades.

Nevertheless, German researchers have been working for several years on an oil skimmer that can operate independently of the sea state (SOS).

In the case of smaller or larger oil spills, the oil skimmer is an important component in reducing damage and effectively removing oil in the event of an emergency. However, these oil skimmers are not comparable to those used in continuous commercial operation.

Here, the type of oil skimmer depends heavily on the conditions found on site.

The most important points here are

What does the medium to be cleaned consist of (e.g. cooling water, waste water, wash water, other)?
Which medium is to be removed (oil, grease, other light liquids)?
How much should be removed per time unit?
What are the installation conditions (tank size, shape, installation height)?
How large are the level fluctuations?
What are the physical influences, e.g. value, temperature?

This information determines the design of the oil skimmer in terms of the type and capacity required. The experience gained over the last few decades has made it possible to develop effective standard products depending on the application, which was not possible in the recent history of the oil skimmer.

The following types of oil skimmers have become established:

To find out more about the differences between the individual types of oil skimmer, please click on the respective skimmer! Historically, it can be said that the tube skimmer can be regarded as the most recent stage of development and offers many advantages over other variants in most cases (with a few exceptions) that other designs do not have.

Conclusion: the oil skimmer has secured a firm place for itself in a wide variety of areas and stands for sustainability, environmental protection and cost savings. These decisive points were certainly weighted somewhat differently in the past than they are today, but it can be predicted that the oil skimmer will continue to stand for these criteria in the future.