Choosing and Investing on Oil Skimmer

If you’re in the market for an oil removal solution, you already know that there are various types of oil skimmer. But did you know that choosing the wrong skimmer type can result in poor oil removal? This, in turn, can lead to maintenance issues, health and safety risks, and failure to comply with environmental regulations, among other serious business implications. Oil adheres to the outside of a floating, closed-loop tube as it is drawn across the surface of the water, adjusting automatically to changing water levels.

The movement of the tube across the surface actually creates a current that draws in the oil. The oil covered tube passes through ceramic scrapers that remove the oil and clean the tube. And the clean tube returns to the surface to collect more.

The recovered oil flows into a collection container, and is virtually water-free.

There are many standard mounting systems available for Brill tube type skimmers, or custom mounts can be designed to meets each customers' unique specifications.

Tube type skimmers can efficiently remove all petroleum based oil, fats, grease, oily waste, and animal or vegetable oils that float on the surface of the water.

Unlike other types of skimmers, that can be obstructed by floating debris, tube type skimmers have the ability to snake over, under, and through debris to constantly pick up oil.

To avoid these problems and to help you make the right skimmer choice for your particular application, we’ve covered a few questions that you should ask before making a purchase.

What Are My Needs?

Choosing the right oil skimming solution for your business depends on your specific requirements and expectations. Start with these questions to make an educated decision:

• Do you want to pick up only oil and no water?
• Do you want to remove the sheen from the water’s surface?
• Do you need options for mounting the oil skimmer?
• Do you have debris in your wastewater?
• Do water levels fluctuate in your application?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then a Brill® tube-type oil skimmer is the way to go.

Tube-type oil skimmers work by running an oil-collection tube across the water’s surface. The tube only picks up the oil and leaves water behind.

Tube-Type Oil Skimmers:

• Automatically adjust to changing water levels.
• Are not affected by floating debris.
• Can be mounted to fit any application using pre-engineered, or custom mounting systems.
• Can be integrated with other components like tanks, decanters, controllers, and pumps to form complete, all-in-one systems like the oil removal and transfer system

In some applications, or in the event of spills, you may need to remove a large volume of oil quickly – and collecting some water along with the oil is not a concern, we may recommend using a different solution, like a 3F Series floating weir skimmer.

What Should Be Your Next Step?

If you’ve decided which type of oil skimmer is right for your application, start thinking about choosing a vendor. We’ve prepared a list of seven questions to help you determine the right partner for your oil skimming solution.