S100 Oil Skimmer Case Study: Palm Oil and Fat Removal from Chemical Wash Water
Safe Removal of Oil-and-Fat Mixtures with a FRIESS S100
At a chemical plant, palm oil is processed into intermediates for detergent production. Cleaning storage tanks and pipework generates wash water heavily contaminated with palm oil, palm fat and similar substances. The oily wastewater is collected in a pit approximately 1.8 m wide and 6.0 m long. A height-adjustable inlet funnel spans the full width.
To remove the floating layer, operators first adjusted the funnel manually to the correct height, then pushed the oil-and-fat mixture into the funnel by hand for pumping away.
The Challenge
Unfavourable installation conditions meant that large quantities of water were often removed while the viscous oil-and-fat mixture was captured only incompletely. Wastewater quality no longer met the required limits, so the plant needed a more effective way to remove the floating layer.
The Solution: FRIESS S100 Oil Skimmer
The water temperature was approximately 60 °C, yet the fat layer frequently hardened. When the skimmer was first commissioned, a layer about 10 cm thick was floating on the surface. Initially, the collector hose cleared only a track roughly 5 cm wide. Despite the large drain line, the combination of high skimmer capacity and poor fat flow caused rapid blockage. After trace heating was installed, discharge ran reliably at more than 200 L/h, and the floating layer was completely removed within a short time.
To increase throughput further, the gear ratio was changed from 40:1 to 25:1 and the drain line was routed almost vertically downward. The S100 now conveys the floating fat into a funnel-shaped collection tray, from which it flows through the steep pipe into the existing inlet funnel and is then pumped to the central waste-treatment system.
Results
Using the FRIESS S100 oil skimmer permanently halved the oil-and-grease content of the wastewater. The discharge values again complied with the wastewater treatment plant operator’s requirements. Following this successful operating experience, the plant installed skimmers at additional locations.
- Floating layer completely removed within a short time
- Oil-and-grease content in the wastewater permanently reduced by 50%
- Reliable removal capacity of more than 200 L/h