Oil Water Separators with Active Oil Removal

For more than 50 years, Oil Skimmers, Inc. has specialized in designing and manufacturing equipment that removes oil from water. Our oil skimmers and oil removal systems can be found in over 35,000 applications, in all industries around the world.

We’ve put our decades of application knowledge into the design and development of a line of oil water separators that address the specific inefficiencies found in traditional separators and built them to excel where other separators can fall short. In any application, small or large, The Oil Removal Solution Experts™ at Oil Skimmers, Inc. can provide the right solution to efficiently and effectively separate and remove oil from water.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oil Water Separators

Oil water separators can achieve efficient separation of oil and water in many industrial applications. The right oil water separator can remedy many issues associated with oily wastewater may even help unlock new revenue streams. But what exactly does an oil water separator do?

Why Separate Oil and Water?

Many industrial processes generate wastewater that is a mixture of oil and water, and potentially many other impurities, chemicals, and solids. Oil is a contaminant that can wreak havoc on water treatment and filtration equipment - and if discharged with wastewater, can be an environmental concern. Facilities with oily wastewater must remove the oil before re-using or discharging the water. Local water authorities may perform inspections and charge fines when companies exceed the permitted wastewater contaminant levels. When oil is recovered efficiently, there is opportunity to generate revenue. Reclaimed oil can be a valuable resource for recyclers and can be sold for re-use in markets like biofuel. The right oil water separator can help you save -- and make money!

How Does an Oil Water Separator Work?

Oil is less dense than water and the two liquids are immiscible. This difference in specific gravity causes oil to rise to the surface of water, forming two distinct layers. An oil water separator, in its most basic form, is a tank that provides the space and time needed for this separation process to occur. Separators are made in many different sizes and include various feature-sets to accommodate certain flow rates - and designed to increase overall efficiency, and facilitate and expedite separation. In a coalescing oil water separator, for example, a series of media packs force oil droplets to collide and create larger droplets. The larger the droplets become, the more buoyant they become and rise more quickly. Once the oil is floating on the surface, it can be skimmed off for proper disposal or reuse.

What Industries Use Oil Water Separators?

Many different types of industries rely on oily water separators to remove fat, oil and grease in their everyday operations. Fot those in the food processing industry, there is a market for waste vegetable oil and animal fats, and when efficiently separated from wastewater, oil can be sold to recyclers for a profit. Metal machine shops, tank truck washes, steel mills, packaging plants, injection molding plants, and many more facilities that generate oily wastewater commonly install oil water separators to separate waste oil from water.