Industrial applications
Medium to be cleaned:
Cooling lubricant:
Most oil skimmers are used in metalworking companies. Here they are used for cooling lubricant maintenance. Foreign oil always gets into the cooling lubricant of machine tools. This occurs via the internal lubrication of the machine (plain bearings, internal hydraulics) or via the machined workpieces (oiling for rust protection). This oil is then found in the cooling lubricant tank. Here it causes various problems:
- Cooling lubricant is an emulsion of water and oil. If more oil is added, the concentration is no longer correct and the properties deteriorate.
- The tramp oil floats on the cooling lubricant and prevents contact with oxygen. This causes bacteria to form and the cooling lubricant “tilts”.
The use of an oil skimmer prevents these problems and ensures that the cooling lubricant works as it was designed to.
No matter how big or small a machine tool is, it should always be equipped with an oil skimmer.
Wash water
The purpose of washing water and washing processes is to remove oil and particle contamination from components. This causes the wash water to become contaminated with oil. To ensure that the wash water continues to clean well, the oil must be removed regularly so that the service life does not become too short.
However, for an oil skimmer to be used, the oil must float. If the water in the tank is too turbulent, it must first be calmed so that this can take place.
Wash water is often alkaline and is therefore relatively aggressive. Therefore, oil skimmers must be used that are protected against such aggressiveness, either by Besch. Even if an oil skimmer cannot be used, the oil should be removed regularly so that the wash water continues to clean well and does not have to be disposed of and replaced too frequently.
Cooling water
In the steel and aluminum industry, a lot of cooling water is used, which becomes contaminated with oil or grease as a result of the process. This must be removed as it can otherwise cause various complications in subsequent processes.
The cooling water is often passed through large sedimentation tanks where oil and grease float to the surface. This is where an oil skimmer comes into its own.
Waste water
Depending on the industry, wastewater often contains oil or grease. These substances are often difficult to treat in wastewater treatment. In addition, wastewater must be as oil-free as possible before it can be discharged.
To reduce treatment costs or to comply with discharge regulations, the use of an oil skimmer in a buffer tank for the wastewater often makes sense.
Public institutions
Water suppliers / sewage treatment plants
Local water suppliers and sewage treatment plants also have to treat water and wastewater. If these regularly contain large quantities of oil and grease, oil skimmers can also be used here to relieve the subsequent treatment step and make the treatment process more cost-effective.
Nautical applications
For oil disasters and oil spills in harbors, lakes, rivers or on the oceans, oil skimmers are also used to recover spilled oil and protect the environment.
Due to the size of these applications, specialized oil skimmers are used here, which are not covered on this page. However, these are often so-called brush skimmers.
More about the other types of oil skimmers:
You can find more detailed information on oil skimmers here!