ABNki Waste Oil Recovery Basics

17387 Munn Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 www.abanaki.com
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WHITE PAPER
Waste Oil Recovery Basics: The 7 Benefits, 4 No-Nos,
3 TLCs, and 1 Solution
Waste oil recovery is critical to any application for a multitude of reasons. Many companies try,
or should be trying (tsk tsk if you’re not), to recover their used oil in order to stay in compliance
with government standards and regulations. No one wants to pay a massive fine or even worse,
donning the orange jump suit with silver bracelets, when complying with the law and keeping
our environment clean is a simple enough task.
Additionally, recovering used oil has its monetary perks. Reclaimed hydrocarbons can be sold for
profit and removing it properly can help extend the life of equipment, waste water, or coolant.
All while Mother Earth smiles and the people rejoice. Everybody wins.
Reduction of Disposal Costs:
The cost of disposing oil laden coolant is more expensive
than the disposing of oil.
Recycling Opportunities:
In some instances, companies may be able to re-use the
skimmed oil elsewhere or sell it for recycling, choosing to
keep their part of the world cleaner.
Extend Coolant Life:
Having oil free coolant can also extend its usefulness and
effectiveness, reducing the expense on maintenance and
coolant replacement.
Esthetic Benefits:
Removing the oil from a machine coolant tank will cut
down on the amount of smoke generated from the
cutting tool coming into contact with oil laden coolant
thereby creating a visibly cleaner workplace.
Extend Tool Life:
Removing floating surface oils while aerating and
refreshing coolant will extend tool life as well.
Avoid EPA Violations:
Many machining and metal working shops turn to
aqueous parts cleaning because of limits imposed by the
EPA on the discharge of emissions and wastes.
Hygienic Benefits:
Keeping coolant oxygenated and oil-free reduces the "rotten egg" odor and bacterial levels are
lowered resulting in a cleaner work environment.

17387 Munn Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 www.abanaki.com
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If you’re not reclaiming your used oil than you are awarded no points, may not collect $200, or
pass Go. If you are, you get all of the points. However, if you are doing this but NOT taking care
of the equipment that is helping you reclaim that used oil, then you are just as much a part of the
losing team.
Just like any piece of equipment; cars, computers, those 5-
in-1 breakfast sandwich maker machines, all of them need
tinkering and routine maintenance in order to keep the gears
turning and the eggs fluffy. With that being said, oil skimmer
maintenance is crucial in not only ensuring proper waste oil
recovery, but overall success of your entire operation.
Over the years we have seen some troubling scenes. The
things people do to oil skimmers…it is horrific. Years upon
years of oil and incalculable layers of gunk encrusted all over
the machine. Discharge valves clogged to the point where
the skimmed content barely drips out. THE ORIGINAL BELT.
For shame. All of you.

17387 Munn Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 www.abanaki.com
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If you’re not familiar with how oil skimmers work, here’s a quick overview: Although designs
vary, all oil skimmers rely on specific gravity, surface tension and a moving medium to remove
floating oil from a fluid's surface.
Floating oil and grease cling to skimming media more readily than water, and water has little
affinity for the media. This allows skimming media in the shape of a belt, disk, drum, etc. to pass
through a fluid surface to pick up floating oil and grease with very little water. This oily material
is subsequently removed from the media with wiper blades or pinch rollers.
Oil skimmers are simple, dependable
and effective tools for removing oil,
grease and other hydrocarbons from
water and coolants. Often, an oil
skimmer by itself can achieve the
desired level of water purity. In more
demanding situations, oil skimming is a
cost-effective means of removing most
of the oil before using more
complicated and costly treatments such
as coalescers, membrane filters and
chemical processes.
Here is a video demonstrating what should be happening with an oil skimmer
So how do you know when it is time to show your oil skimmer
some TLC? Here are some things to look out for:
Are the wiper blades on your oil skimmer making
smooth contact with the belt?
Somewhat of a common sense point but still worth
mentioning. In order to successfully skim away the
hydrocarbon, the wipers on the skimmer need to hit the belt
perfectly. And this applies to any type or brand of skimmer.
If the wiper blades are covered in goop, covered in debris, or
if they are old and worn down, the skimmer will not be able
to operate as intended. If you think something is amok with the way your oil skimmer is skimming,
start with the wiper blades. They are an easy fix and new blades can make a world of a difference.

17387 Munn Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 www.abanaki.com
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Is the belt riding away from the sides of the
pulley?
Is the oil skimmer wobbly? Does the whole
operation seem wonky? If things appear off,
then they probably are. Double check to make
sure that the oil skimmer is level in the tank, pit,
sump, or well. If things still seem off, then see
common sense point 1 about making sure the
wipers are clean and not warped.
Has the belt seen better days?
Then replace it! Belts will typically last a long time, but as the great Robert Frost so
poetically said, “Nothing gold can stay”. Belts will operate even past the point that they
should. However, if you notice any fraying or tears, even if it is slight, it would be in your
best interest if you replaced the belt. And going back to bullet point one, if your wipers
are sketchy then they are going to mess your belt up.
Oil skimmers are very simple pieces of equipment that can help
you tackle a very serious wastewater issue. They are a low-cost
and environmentally sound solution to waste oil recovery. They
are by no means high-maintenance or difficult to use, but do
require some routine work every now and then and a little
tinkering here or there. Bottom line is, replacing a wiper blade
system or belt on an oil skimmer beats having to pay a fine to your
respective government environmental agency. If you are not sure
about the laws are regarding wastewater in your area, we have a
handy database of environmental links indexed by location for
you to use. If you are still not sure how to troubleshoot your skimmer’s issues then contact your
sales team at 440-543-7400 or 800-358-7546 for tips and pointers. Learn more about the
effective oil skimming solutions Abanaki offers by visiting www.abanaki.com.