Drum Reconditioner

Companies that provide reusable containers for shipping of materials and finished goods use a combination of processes to clean and restore the containers between uses. This makes for a wastewater stream full of many types of oils, from both the residual contents of the containers, and the restoring processes themselves. Of course, these oils must be removed from the water before it can be reused or discharged.

PROBLEM: The owner of one such reusable container company, based in Cleveland, OH, wanted an oil removal solution that was simple, could operate unsupervised, and wouldn’t require a lot of maintenance. He also wanted a solution that would not cut into his profit margin, either by a high upfront investment or by requiring non-productive downtime. He needed employees to concentrate on processing the 1,000 barrels a day that the company turns around. (This process includes dumping the barrels into a vat of 190-degree cleaning solution to purify them. They are then repaired if needed and repainted.)

SOLUTION: The company invested in four units from Oil Skimmers, Inc., and installed them in different locations at his plant. In a unique anti-clogging design, the Model 5H has a polyurethane tube that attracts and collects the waste oil as it floats on top of wastewater. The tube passes through a scraper system to remove the oil, which flows by gravity into a containment drum. The Model 5H operates independently and, if needed, can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its internal components are made of high-strength steel and bronze for durability. External parts are made from abrasive-resistant ceramic. The machine has a lifespan of more than 30 years.

Jim Petrucci, Oil Skimmer’s vice president, said that because the company uses factory-trained Oil Skimmers, Inc., Recovery System representatives, they can even specialize features, such as mounting racks, that make the Model 5H easy to fit into limited or awkward spaces. “You aren’t picking out something from a catalogue. We can adapt, modify, or even build from scratch,” he said.

BENEFITS: The Model 5H can provide three significant financial benefits to companies by:

• reducing wastewater-treatment costs (i.e., chemicals, hauling charges, treatment-system maintenance, improved system efficiency)
• reducing regulatory testing requirements and impact fees for wastewater treatment and discharge
• generation of an additional revenue source through the sale of the high-quality removed oil to oil recyclers, who are currently paying an average of 50 cents per gallon.

The Oil Skimmers’ units enabled the company to recover 3,000 gallons of oil a week from its wastewater, and begin recycling all of the water used in its container processing. None is discharged into the municipal system.