Design and fabrication of oil skimmer cum metal chip

collector
Abstract:
Aim of this project is to remove the oily effluent and chemical compounds
from industrial waste water and for collect the metal chips in shop floor. Oil
Skimming 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.
CHAPTER-1
 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

Oils:

Oil can be defined as: “A viscous liquid derived from petroleum, especially
for use as a fuel or lubricant” or “Any of various viscous liquids which are
insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents and are obtained from animals or
plants” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2012). Oils are, based on these definitions, divided
into two categories with different chemical composition; mineral oils (also called
crude oils) and organic oils (also called fats) in which essential oils are included.

Oil is one of the precious crude and being used in many routine application
of human life. Since most of the oils are toxic so quite dangerous for alive when it
comes to direct contact with them. During the years of recent decades, world has
witnessed many oil spillage tragedies and subsequent damage to alive and
environments. Many countries has made stringent safety norms for waste water
disposal contained with oils mainly typically from petrochemical and process
industries so that such industries are equipped with such kind of oil skimmers to
separate the oils from disposal water. The continuous removal of oil from process
fluids; increases the life of the fluid; resulting of: a) Reduce the machine fluid
refilling cost. b) Improves the disposal water quality.

Pollution is a major area of concern in the modern era. The main reason of
water pollution throughout the globe is oil and oil spills. Therefore, our aim is to
control this type of pollution by designing equipment which separates oil from
water. Hence, proper collection, disposition and storage of oil are necessary.
 Many countries have made stringent safety norms for waste water disposal
contained with oils mainly typically from petrochemical and process industries so
that such industries are equipped with such kind of oil skimmers/Skimmers to
separate the oils from disposal water. There are various methods are used for
collecting the oil from water. Different types of machines are used for oil
collection purpose.

The collection of spilled oil is performed by means of special vessels called

oil skimmers/Skimmer. The ultimate aim of any recovery operation is to collect as
much oil as is reasonably and economically possible.

A skimmer is defined as any mechanical device designed for the removal of

oil (or oil/water mixture) from the surface of water without altering the water
physical and/or chemical characteristics. The principles for skimmers’ operation
are based on the fluidity properties of oil and oil/water mixture, density differences
between oil or oil/water mixtures, and water or differences in adhesion to materials

These technologies are commonly used for oil spill remediation but are also
commonly found in industrial applications such as removing oil from machine tool
coolant and removing oil from aqueous parts washers. They are often required to
remove oils, grease and fats prior to further treatment for environmental discharge
compliance. By removing the top layer of oils, water stagnation, smell and
unsightly surface scum can be reduced.

Placed before an oily water treatment system may give greater oil separation
efficiency for improved waste water quality. It should be noted that all oil
skimmers will pick up a percentage of water with the oil which will need to be
decanted to obtain concentrated oil.
Subsequently, a versatile skimmer able to handle different kinds of oil and various
situations may be preferable in some cases, but is to be kept in mind that no single
skimmer can cope with all potential situations that may arise. A combination of
skimmers is hence desirable. Particularly as the oil weathers. (ITOPF, 2012) The
second most important factor to assess is the skimmer’s intended use and expected
operational conditions. Depending on if the skimmer is to form an integral part of a
vessel mounted, offshore recovery system or if it is to be deployed manually in a
port or fixed in a cooling water reservoir the selected type of skimmer will differ
and aspects such as size, robustness and ease of operation, handling, and
maintenance can then be evaluated. (ITOPF, 2012)

Oil Skimming:

Overview Oil skimming is a low-tech hut reliable and efficient technique. An oil
skimmer is defined as: “Any mechanical device specifically designed for the
removal of oil (or oil-water mixture) from the surface of water without altering the
water’s physical and/or chemical characteristics”. (NOAA, 2010) The skimming
principle, upon which the technique relies, is dependent on three physical
properties of oils. namely specific gravity. surface tension and affinity. Most oils
have a lower specific gravity than water, which allows it to separate from water
and float to the surface unless agitated. These oils are possible to collect using an
oil skimmer. Other oils do the opposite and, if not agitated. sink to the bottom of
the water and must be collected by other means than skimming. (Abanaki. 2011)
The light oils, which can he skimmed off the water surface, are possible to collect
due to the surface tension and affinity of’ the oil. Most oils have little or no affinity
ftr water, which prevents mixing of oil and water. As the skimming medium enters
the water, the oil wets the surface preventing water from doing the same. Any
water on the surface is pushed away as more oil attaches to the surface because of
the surface tension of’ the oil.

However. it is important that the skimming medium is not submerged too

deep into the water, as it may cause the oil to he washed off the skimming medium
and thereby lowering the efficiency. (Persson K. , 2013) A number of factors are to
be taken into account when selecting skimmers but the most important aspects to
consider are the viscosity and the adhesive properties of the oil intended to he
skimmed. In open sea spills, other important factors are sea state, currents, and
level of’ debris. In relatively predictable situations such as at fixed facilities, for
instance industry processes, marine terminals and refineries, the type of oil handled
may be known and hence the type of skimmer to be used can be selected
accordingly.

Subsequently, a versatile skimmer able to handle different kinds of oil and

various situations may be preferable in some cases, but is to be kept in mind that
no single skimmer can cope with all potential situations that may arise. A
combination of skimmers is hence desirable. Particularly as the oil weathers.
(ITOPF, 2012) The second most important factor to assess is the skimmer’s
intended use and expected operational conditions. Depending on if the skimmer is
to form an integral part of a vessel mounted, offshore recovery system or if it is to
be deployed manually in a port or fixed in a cooling water reservoir the selected
type of skimmer will differ and aspects such as size, robustness and ease of
operation, handling, and maintenance can then be evaluated. (ITOPF, 2012)
CHAPTER-2
 CHAPTER-2

METHODOLOGY & TECHNOLOGIES

For construction of economic blanket belt oil skimmer two major points is
under consideration. First one is the construction of the frame and other relevant
structure from locally found materials even from the scrap. That will minimize the
cost greatly and low skilled workshop labor can fabricate the model effortlessly.
Second is the cost of the belt which is tried to replace by blanket belt instead of
conventional belt. The proposed belt oil skimmer utilizes a continuous belt with a
wiper to remove oil. Instead of conventional costly polymer belt locally found belt
which is used for warming purpose is applied. It is durable fabrics belt able to
withstand rough handling during installation and maintenance.

The belt of oil skimming must have the sufficient attraction or affinity for oil
than the water. Besides, the durability must be optimistic. Belt is made from blends
of fabrics made of two or more fibers mainly cotton and jute line with polyester or
polymer filament. Sometime Jute Blanket is made from the cellulose-rich fiber of
the jute plant, which is very common for sub-Indian continent especially in
Bangladesh. This belt thus durable for cyclic use and can be applied in the sun for
prolong time. The pH level, saltiness is not so much affecting its performance.
Besides this, cleaning is easier and even detergent wash is possible. After being
torn and use it can be burn as a domestic fuel.

The heat withstand ability is up to 70°C. Alike the other belt oil skimmer the
blanket belt skimmer consists of a motor and pulley system, runs through
contaminated liquid. This system picks up oil from the water surface. The
differences in specific gravity and surface tension between spilled oil and water
helps to attract the oil in the belt. A gear train arrangement is provided for speed
control.

An electrically powered DC motor having 12v and the max speed of 100
rpm is used for the project. Considering reliable power transmission and affinity
for oil blanket belt is used for this project. The belt between the flanges in the
upper pulley prevents the oil spread out. Now after designing the various parts of
the project, they are assembled together in a frame. Therefore, the strength and the
rigidity of the designed frame are high enough to withstand with the entire applied
load. Usually lower pulley is flange less, because, it is immersed into the oil. The
oil is absorbed with the belt from the lower pulley. Afterwards, with the rotation of
the shaft, the belt will carry the absorbed oil to the upper pulley. As soon as the
belt passes the upper pulley, the tray wipes out the oil from the belt. Inclined belt
provides better wiping action.

At the end, the performance of the designed project is estimated and

compare with the existing oil skimmer. According to the design, the experimental
set-up showing different parts of the project. The reserve tray is filled with water.
The sample oil is poured in the tray. Oil form a layer over the water surface. A
blanket piece is cut and sewed as belt. Before first use, oil is spread over the
blanket belt to reduce its affinity towards water molecules. As the lower pulley
touches the oil, oil is absorbed and the belt wipes the oil in the collector tray. An
outlet returns the oil in to the reserve tray. The discharge of the outlet is measure in
volume to find the skimming rate. When oil wet the belt slipping may occur. Thus
emery paper is provided on the periphery of the pulley to prevent slipping.
Skimming Technologies :

The mechanisms through which oil is removed from the water surface can
be divided into oleophilic techniques, which rely on the adhesion of oil to a
moving surface, and non oleophilic techniques. Non-oleophilic techniques include
weir skimmers relying on gravity, suction systems, and mechanical skimmers,
which physically lift the oil with scoops, or grabs. (ITOPF, 2012)

Oleophilic Skimmers Oleophilic skimmers recover oil based on the

properties of specific materials, which have greater affinity for oil than for water.
There exist numerous types of oleophilic skimmers and they are therefore divided
into subgroups such as disc skimmers, drum skimmers, rope mop skimmers, belt
skimmers, and brush skimmers. Regardless of the type of skimmer, the principle
behind the technique used is the same for all oleophilic skimmers. The skimming
head. i.e. the part with the oleophilic surface, is rotated or pulled through the oil
slick and the oil is then scraped or squeezed off and the oil removed into a sump to
be pumped or sucked away. (NOAA, 2010) (ITOPF, 2012) Oleophilic skimmers
usually achieve the highest ratio of recovered oil in relation to entrained water, also
referred to as the recovery efficiency, compared to other skimmer types. Oleophilic
skimmers reach their highest efficiency when handling medium viscosity oils
(between100 — 2000 cSt). Diesel, kerosene and other low viscosity oil products
generally do not adhere to the oleophilic surface in sufficiently thick layers to
attain high recovery rates. Higher viscosity’ oils such as heavy bunker oil on the
other hand, can prove to be difficult to remove due to its tendency to form large
clumps in the water, which are too heavy and compact to be skimmed.
Comparatively, oil-water emulsions can be almost impossible to recover with
oleophilic skimmers, due to the fact that emulsions are nearly non-adhesive.
(ITOPF, 2012) ()leophilic materials are often made of some form of polymer even
though metal surfaces have shown to be effective, Furthermore, studies show that
discs and drums with grooved surfaces result in higher recovery rates than smooth
surfaces. (ITOPF, 2012) (Broje & Keller. 2006)

TYPES OF SKIMMERS :

1. Disc Skimmer

2. Rope Mop skimmer

3. Drum skimmer

4. Brush Skimmer

5. Belt skimmer

6. Suction skimmer

7. Weir Skimmer

8. Floating Tube skimmer

1. Disc Skimmer:

Disc skimmers work best with lighter types of oil (medium viscosity) and
cannot handle emulsified oil. However, disc skimmers can he used for open sea
operations and are controlled by crane operators. The volume and weight of the
disc skimmers are quite large due to the size and number of rotating discs (NOAA,
2010).

2. Rope Mop Skimmers:

Rope mop skimmers use ropes floating on the surface of the water to retrieve
the oil. Rope mop skimmers are large units and require the use of a crane during
the entire operation for launching from either a vessel or shore. The oil is
recovered by the ropes. which are then wrung releasing the oil into a collection
tank either on board the vessel or on the shore. This skimmer type is not sensitive
to waves but is normally only used for single sweep operations. Vertical rope mop
skimmers are most suited for lighter oil types as very little water is collected
during recovery. Debris or ice will not affect the skimming operation (NOAA,
2010). Rope mop skimmers are ideal for shallow water conditions, as the rope
requires minimal water to float. Furthermore, Rope mops are ideal in trash-laden
environments since the trash tills oil the ropes as they come up to the wringer unit.
(Cleanup Oil. 2003).

3. Drum skimmer:

Drum skimmers are driven by air or hydraulics and are therefbre often considered
for use in hazardous areas and environments. Drum skimmers are versatile skimmers and
can handle 26 various types of oils ranging from light oils such as diesel to heavier oils
such as crude oil. (Cleanup Oil. 2003)
4. Brush Skimmer:

Brush skimmers can be packaged in a wide range of configurations from

stand-alone units to modules mounted on a barge (self- floating unit) or on a
specially constructed recovery vessel. Depending on the stiffness and density of
the bristles used and the comb configuration, different types of oil can be
recovered. In general, light oil is better recovered by finer. Softer bristles while
stiffer and wider spaced bristles are better suited for heavy oils. (Cleanup Oil,
2003)

5. Belt skimmer:

Belt skimmers are large and are therefore often mounted on a barge or on a
specially constructed vessel. These skimmers have a high recovery efficiency and
good recovery rate, hut are specialised products and can he complicated to operate.
which requires heavy equipment and specially trained personnel (NOAA, 2010).
however, a fixed position mounted belt skimmer requires an initial tuning but can
then operate independently. (Nilsson. 2013)
6. Suction skimmer:

Suction skimmers such as vacuum skimmers represent the simplest skimmer

design in terms of operational theory. whereby oil is recovered by air suction
systems directly from the water surface (ITOPF. 2012). The simplest type of
vacuum skimmer uses a hose directly connected to a vacuum truck, which can
easily he employed in harbours or rivers. Due to the sensitivity to waves, vacuum
skimmers are often restricted to use in harbours and calm waters. (NOAA. 2010)
Furthermore, suction skimmers are ideally suited for recovery of oil on or near the
shoreline due to the widespread availability of’ vacuum systems. Nonetheless, the
undifferentiating nature of the suction device may result in high proportions of
water also being collected. (ITOPF, 2012)
7. Weir Skimmer:

Weir skimmers refer to skimming devices using gravitational force to drain

oil from the water surface, Weir skimmers are floating units where the edge of the
weir is positioned just below the upper slick surface or at the interface between the
floating oil and water, hence allowing oil to flow over the weir edge into a
collecting sump. The oil is then pumped to storage tanks. Weir skimmers are
normally launched from vessels using a crane and the weir can either be remote
controlled by compressed air or self-adjusting. Weir skimmers are one of the most
commonly used skimmer type due to its simple construction. (NOAA, 2010)
(ITOPF, 2012) Weir skimmers are however prone to be jammed or clogged due to
floating debris, and although swell alone does not interfere with skimming
operation, weir skimmers are very sensitive to steep waves (ITOPF, 2012). In table
2, an overview over different skimming technologies and their properties are
briefly presented.
8. Floating Tube skimmer:

The tube keeps skimming as water level fluctuates. Oil adheres to outside surface
of tube. Tube oil skimmers are designed to ensure consistent, even operation,
regardless of the application. They continuously remove oil from the surface of the
water using a closed loop tube that floats on the surface of the water, attracting the
floating oil or grease. Oil adheres to the outside of closed loop tube, which is
continuously driven across the separator’s surface and through a set of scrapers
that remove the oil, which is then drained into a collection tank. They are flexible
and versatile, easy to install, need low maintenance, not affected by level
fluctuation, working parts are out of the liquid, less costly to use.
CHAPTER-3
 CHAPTER-3

Literature Review

A vulnerable damage of ecosystem

has done by the several
accidents around the world
including Bangladesh. Crude
petroleum oil or refined fuel spills
from carriage ship
accidents in Alaska, Mexican gulf,
Galapagos Islands, France
and numerous other sites. The last
accident in Shundarban,
Bangladesh in 2014 spreads over
350 Km2. Scientists and
engineers are continuously trying to
find a convenient way to
recover the spilled oil. Responding to
oil spills immediately is
a complex and costly for any
significant feasible operation
(Ventikos et al., 2004). A varies
range of materials for oil
remediation have actually been
employed such as natural or
synthetic dispersants, different
absorbents, solidifiers, booms
and lastly oil skimmers (Walther
III, 2014; Behnood et al.,
2013). Dispersants just disperse the
oil to quicken the oil
separation from the water by
absorption.
A vulnerable damage of ecosystem
has done by the several
accidents around the world
including Bangladesh. Crude
petroleum oil or refined fuel spills
from carriage ship
accidents in Alaska, Mexican gulf,
Galapagos Islands, France
and numerous other sites. The last
accident in Shundarban,
Bangladesh in 2014 spreads over
350 Km2. Scientists and
engineers are continuously trying to
find a convenient way to
recover the spilled oil. Responding to
oil spills immediately is
a complex and costly for any
significant feasible operation
(Ventikos et al., 2004). A varies
range of materials for oil
remediation have actually been
employed such as natural or
synthetic dispersants, different
absorbents, solidifiers, booms
and lastly oil skimmers (Walther
III, 2014; Behnood et al.,
2013). Dispersants just disperse the
oil to quicken the oil
separation from the water by
absorption.
A vulnerable damage of ecosystem
has done by the several
accidents around the world
including Bangladesh.
A vulnerable damage of ecosystem has
done by the several
accidents around the world including
Bangladesh
1. A vulnerable damage of ecosystem has done by the several accidents around
the world including Bangladesh. Crude petroleum oil or refined fuel spills
from carriage ship accidents in Alaska, Mexican gulf, Galapagos Islands,
France and numerous other sites. The last accident in Shundarban,
 Bangladesh in 2014 spreads over 350 Km2. Scientists and engineers are
continuously trying to find a convenient way to recover the spilled oil.
Responding to oil spills immediately is a complex and costly for any
significant feasible operation (Ventikos et al., 2004). A varies range of
materials for oil remediation have actually been employed such as natural or
synthetic dispersants, different absorbents, solidifiers, booms and lastly oil
skimmers (Walther III, 2014; Behnood et al., 2013). Dispersants just
disperse the oil to quicken the oil separation from the water by absorption.

2. Absorbents are attractive for applications of collection and complete

elimination of oil from the oil spill site (Yang et al., 2016). The application
of absorbents to oil spill zones facilitates a change of oil from liquid to semi
solid phase. Once this changed is attained, the elimination of the oil by the
removal of the absorbents structure becomes easier. About two decades ago,
the skimming was 10% efficient at best (Wadsworth, 1995). Today
technology has change and different model of skimmer and sorbent are
being tested. Different materials such as Cotton, Steel, Rubber,
Polyurethane, Oleophilic are preferred for oil skimming if they have
sufficient absorptivity (ITOPF, 2012). Many research and guidelines suggest
oil skimming from water surface because of its cost effectiveness and
feasibility (Kremer, 2011). Oil skimmers are simple, reliable and effective
tools for removing oil, grease and other hydrocarbons from water and
coolants. Though Ansell et al. (2001) describes the complexity of heavy fuel
skimming, Patel (2015) studies and compares the efficiency of various belt
type oil skimmers. Oil skimmer designs vary significantly depending on
specific gravity, surface tension and a moving medium to remove floating
oil from a fluid surface. Broje et al. (2007) works on the effect of operational
 parameters on the recovery of an Oleophilic drum skimmer. The work
concluded that viscosity, surface tension, oil thickness, temperature and
skimmer rotation has immense effect on overall skimming performance.
Oleophilic skimmers are constructed on the adhesion of oil to the revolving
skimmer surface. The rotating surface lifts the oil out of the water to an oil
removal device (Keller et al., 2008).

3. Researchers work on the application of a number of vegetable fibers as

sorbent materials for oil spills (Polaris Applied Sciences Inc, 2009).
Hammoud (2001) studied the process of increasing the skimming rare by
weir skimming method. Skimming does not change the chemical or physical
properties of oil (ITOPF, 1999). Robert W. A. worked on the development
of porous free floating endless belt oil skimmer (Agnew, 1972). Lockheed
Corporation developed rotating disk oil skimmer (Technical Paper by
Abanaki Oil Skimmer). It is capable to skim oil in half-immersed condition.
Gupta et al. (2015) describes a hypothesis of eco oil skimmer to increase the
oil skimming efficiency up to 60%. Broje et al. (2007) found the effect of
contact angles of liquids on solid surfaces. Panditrao (2016) used both belt
and disc skimming process for removing oil from seawater for finding the
effective method. Pathare et al. (2015) worked on the development of belt
skimmer and shows the mathematical design background. Jegele et al.
(2016) did the efficiency studies of a belt type oil skimmer conducted by
testing six synthetic and six local belt materials in the laboratory.

4. Dave et al. (2011) found the mechanical method that means skimming is a
best remediation process for oil spilling. Sadek Z. K. (Kassab, 2010) also
tried to predict the performance of belt skimmer by deducing empirical
 correlations. Sadek also search the effect of varying the functioning and the
environmental parameters. Karan et al. (2011) worked on the application of
different structured fabric for oil skimming and concluded that the
commercial cotton and natural sorbent can be used for skimming. Husseien
et al. (2009) recommends substitution of commercial synthetic oil sorbents
in oil spill cleanup by agriculture residue and could be advantageous by
incorporating other benefits such as biodegradability.

5. TORREY CANYON (United Kingdom, 1967) TORREY CANYON is ran

aground on pollard rock on the seven stones reef, it is near to the lands’ end,
Cornwall on 18 march 1967. Thousand tons of oil is spilling from the
stricken vessel's ruptured tanks and during the next 12 days the entire cargo
is close to 119,000 tons of Kuwait crude oil was lost

6. ODYSSEY 9(Off Canada, 1988) On November 10th 1988, in the north

Atlantic 700 miles of the coast of Nova Scotia while on voyage from sullom
voe, Shetland islands to come by chance Newfoundland, the Liberian tanker
ODYSSEY, in heavy weather almost fully loaded with a cargo of 132, 157
tons of north sea Brent crude oil, broke into two and sank. As it sank fire
started on the stern section and the surrounding oil caught fire.

7. AEGEAN SEA (Spain, 1992) On 3 December 1992, while ship is close to

the port of La corona on the Galician coast, north west Spain , the Greek
OBO carrier AEGEAN SEA, during heavy weather, laden with 80,000
tonnes of north sea Brent crude oil, ran aground. The vessel is break into two
and caught fire. Ship and spilled cargo burned for several days.
8. Per-O l of Persson, University Lecturer, Industrial Ecology, Royal Institute
of Technology: As a lecturer on technical environmental protection, Mr
Persson has come into contact with oil skimming on a number of occasions.
Mr Persson’s expertise also includes different types of oils and different oil
treatment methods

9. Örjan Nilsson, Application Technology – Purchase, Sandvik Process

Systems: Mr Nilsson is responsible for the oil skimmer within Sandvik
Process Systems and has conducted tests on the skimmer. Mr Nilsson
also holds the information regarding current applications of the oil skimmer.

10.Tommy Carlsson & Lars Mattson, Rescue Coordinators, Regional Control

Centre, Swedish Coast Guard: As rescue coordinators for the Swedish Coast
Guard, Mr Carlsson and Mr Mattson have coordinated rescue operations to
combat oil spills. They have also been active in the process of purchasing
new equipment to combat oil spills and thereby hold a strong expertise in
which technical solutions are available.

11.Jonas Johnson, CEO, Surf Cleaner: As the CEO of a company producing oil
skimming equipment, Mr Johnson has insight into the oil skimming
market’s dynamics and development. As Surf Cleaner offers an innovative
product, Mr Johnson’s expertise also includes new technology on the oil
skimming markets and
its applications.

12.Victoria Broje’ and ‘Arturo A keller’ , “improved recovery of oil spills from
water surfaces using tailored surface in oleophilic skimmers , Donald Bren
 school of Environmental Science & Management , University of California ,
Santa Barbara.

13.‘ASTM.2007 .ASTM F72-06’ , “Standard test methods for adsorbents”,

American Society of testing and materials ,West conshocken,P.A

14.R.S.Kurumi and j.k.Gupta, Machine Design- 1, s-Chand

15.K.Subhramanya, fluid mechanics and hydraulic machines , Tata McGraw

Hill(2012).

16.‘S.H. Schwartz’, “ Performance tests of four oil spill skimmer , in :

proceedings of the International Oil spill Conference” , American Petroleum
Institute , Washington ,DC, USA ,1979,pp,493-496.

17.‘S.D. Gill ,W.Ryan’, “Assessment of the ACW-400 oil skimmer by the

Canadian coast guard for oil spill counter measure operations, in: Proceeding
of the International oil spill Conference” , American Petroleum Institute,
Washington, DC,USA ,1979, pp, 279-282.

18.Thombare Babasaheb B.1 (2018), has studies in their paper as named “A

Review on Analysis of Belt Type Skimmer”that according to polar and non-
polar properties of oil and water, water consist of H+ and OH- having polar
nature while oil acts as an non-polar substance. Therefore, they do not get
mixed with each other and the oil floats on water instead of sinking in. They
studied that the oil has lesser density than water so oil floats on water. The
belt material they selectedwas a non-polar material due towhich the oil gets
 attracted to the belt. They took the belt material like (cotton, rubber, steel,
oeleophillic, etc.) They took the material that had higher adhesive properties
than water. Due to which the belt absorbs the oil more easily than the water.
This is what they concluded in their paper.

19.Rakesh Pund1 (2018), Studied in their paper as named “Review on Analysis

of Oil Skimmer” that the polyurethane belt is having better oil skimming
limit. They found out thatthe skimmer can evacuate around 60-70 liters of
oil each day. They concluded that the polyurethane belt is effective and
efficient for evacuating the oil.They even stated that the polyurethane belt is
more advantageous to utilize where less clamor activity is required. They
performed a practical in which they tried numerous belts (with different
materials of belts) and concluded that the polyurethane belt has more oil
recovering capacity

20.Mamta Patel (2015), has studied in her paper as named “Design and
Efficiency Comparison of Various Belt Type Oil Skimmers” that the slight
difference in design and material can give a large impact on the oil recovery
capacity of the skimmer. She concluded that the improvement of the oil
skimmer towards to include additional belt shaft and use steel belt with steel
material instead of rope significantly improves the oil recovery efficiency
ofthe skimmer. Even by making the changes in the use of material as well as
slight changes in the design (in short ifthe oil skimmer is modified a bit it
can improve that efficiency of oil recovering capacity of the oil skimmer and
even make the skimmer easy to use)
21.Sathiyamoorthi V1 (2018), has studied in their paper named “A review on
mobile oil skimmer” about the oil recovery capacity and the oil recovery
efficiency.They found out thatthe belt speed, belt incline angle, thickness
ofthe oil slick, and the speed ofthe belt are the important parameters among
the others. They studied that the water drops are collected along with the oil.
So for the skimmer to work efficiently it has to be reduced. Stirrer
mechanism can be used to improve oil removal rate. Thus various process
have been developed to remove oilfrom the contaminated area by use of
booms, dispersants, and skimmers. It can also be separated by oil water
separators or any sorbent materials. They resulted thatthe design
improvement ofthe typical oil skimmer towards the belt shaft and use of
skimmer belt significantly improve the oil recovery efficiency and also
assimilates simpler. In short they studied that the proper design of the
skimmer and proper use of material can increase the oil recovery rate of the
skimmer and can work efficiently. The angles of the belt and the speed of
the belt plays an important role in the good efficiency of the skimmer.

22.Rafi Jamal Algawi1 (2014), has studied in their paper named “study of
operating conditions for oil skimmer apparatus from water”that the oil
recovery rate increases with the increase in belt rotational speed. The oil
recovery efficiency decreases with the increase in belt rotational speed. They
even resulted that the oil recovery rate increases with the decrease in the oil
temperature, but decrease in oil temperature decreases the oil efficiency rate.
The studied that the oil viscosity plays an important role in oil recovery
using a oil skimmer. A lower temperature increases the oil recovery rate and
the oil recovery efficiency by increasing the viscosity. They even concluded
thatthe PH of the water has a significant effect on the oil as its changes its
 physical properties of the oil making it difficult to be recovered. They even
concluded that the material ofthe belt used on the skimmer has a significant
role as its changes the oil recovery rate of the skimmer. In short they
concluded that the factors like viscosity of the oil, belt material, surrounding
atmosphere of the oil spill can change the oil recovery rate as well as the oil
recovery efficiency of the skimmer affecting the recovery of the oil.

23.Arturo A. Keller1 (2008) Studied in their paper named “oil recovery with
novel skimmer surfaces under cold climate conditions” that the temperature
of the surrounding and oil plays a vital role in the recovery of the oil. They
concluded that as the temperature of the oil increases it becomes difficult for
the skimmer to skim it out of the water surface. Due to increasing
temperature the skimmer belt is enable to adsorb it as it becomes hard. The
decreasing temperature of the oil decreases the oil viscosity as a result
decreasing the oil recovery rate of the skimmer. They concluded that as the
temperature of the oil decreases it becomes less cohesive to the belt used for
the skimming purpose. For the oil to be cohesive they studied and concluded
to add the cohesive materials to the oil before putting it through the
skimming process. These cohesive material makes oil to stick to the surface
of the belt and recover the oil from the surface of the water. In short they
studied that the lower temperature atmospheres can make oil recovery
difficult from the surface of the water. For the purpose to recover the oil it is
necessary to add some cohesive admixtures to the oil spill for itto be
recovered as it becomes non cohesive with the decreasing temperature of the
atmosphere. In short the viscosity of the oil plays a vital role in the oil
recovery rate as well the oil recovery efficiency.
24.Vishal G. Naphade1 (2018), has studied in their paper named “Design of
Disc Type Oil Separator” that the material of the disc in the disc type oil
skimmer can change the oil recovery capacity of the skimmer due to the
weight of the material. They studied that the mild steel disc increases the
weight ofthe skimmer making it harder to carry around. Due to heavy disc
the oil recovery capacity changes drastically. Instead of the mild steel disc
they used acrylic disc which id light in weight and does not soak oil. They
resulted that the acrylic disc skimmer has the better oil recovery capacity
than the mild steel disc skimmer. They even concluded that the acrylic disc
gives better performance than the mild steel disc and is easy to handle and
clean after the use.

25.N Widiaksan1 ( 2017 ), has studied in the paper named “Analysis of

effectiveness of oil spill recoveryusingdisctype oil skimmer at laboratory
scale” the oil recovery capacity depends upon the speed ofthe disc of the
skimmer. They tested the oil recovery capacity (oil recovered on the specific
speed) at the medium speed, low speed and high speed. They even
concluded thatthe larger areawill produce higher amount of oil recovered.
They concluded that at the higher speed ofthe disc it will recover some
amount of water along with the oil. So the speed of the disc should be set
according to the area ofthe spill and the depth ofthe oil spill. In short the disc
speed is dependent on area of the spill and the depth ofthe oil that has been
spilled on the surface ofthe water.

26.Per-Olof Persson, University Lecturer, Industrial Ecology, Royal Institute of

Technology: As a lecturer on technical environmental protection, Mr
Persson has come into contact with oil skimming on a number of occasions.
 Mr Persson’s expertise also includes different types of oils and different oil
treatment methods.

27.Örjan Nilsson, Application Technology – Purchase, Sandvik Process

Systems: Mr Nilsson is responsible for the oil skimmer within Sandvik
Process Systems and has conducted tests on the skimmer. Mr Nilsson also
holds the information regarding current applications of the oil skimmer.

28.Tommy Carlsson & Lars Mattson, Rescue Coordinators, Regional Control

Centre, Swedish Coast Guard: As rescue coordinators for the Swedish Coast
Guard, Mr Carlsson and Mr Mattson have coordinated rescue operations to
combat oil spills. They have also been active in the process of purchasing
new equipment to combat oil spills and thereby hold a strong expertise in
which technical solutions are available.

29.Jonas Johnson, CEO, SurfCleaner: As the CEO of a company producing

oilskimming equipment, Mr Johnson has insight into the oil skimming
market’s dynamics and development. As SurfCleaner offers an innovative
product, Mr Johnson’s expertise also includes new technology on the oil
skimming markets and its applications.

30.(2007) Victoria Broje and Keller Performing various tests, concluded that
for thicker oil neoprene drums and for thinner oils polyethylene drums are
more efficient.

31.(2008) Mamta Patel It includes a slight design improvement i.e. using a belt
shaft instead of rope and ultimately improve the oil recovery efficiency.
32.(2013) Andrea Agrusta They have presented the solution for oil skimmer to
be used in coastal waters and ports.

33.(2015 ) Tushar Pathare Using solar panel instead of D.C. motor to improve
energy efficiency.

34.(2016) Rohit Yadav They have concluded that water is mixed with oil for
coolant purpose. Use of filter paper increases the efficiency.

35.(2017) Vinod Patil Implemented oil skimmer which can be operated using
Bluetooth. It also consists of garbage collector.

36.(2017) Nikhil Vaidya In this various design, fabrication, calculations and

materials of oil skimmer is shown.

37.(2017) Y S Nugroho They analyzed the effectiveness of oil spill recovery

using disc type oil skimmer.

38.(2017) A A Yudiana By various tests and experiments they concluded that,

the larger the area of the belt, the higher amount of oil is being recovered.

39.(2017) Sumon Khandakar Oil is being recovered manually by using oil

adsorbent materials like straw, jute, clothe, etc. (2017) Sumon Khandakar
Oil is being recovered manually by using oil adsorbent materials like straw,
jute, clothe, etc.
40.Oil skimmer with centrifugal sepratorIn this model the working system is oil
skimmer, oil filter and centrifugal separator. oil skimmer belt is made up of
oleophilic material i: e more affinity to draw oil than water. his belt rotates
on bearing block at a certain speed. This model is placed in tank of oil-water
mixture. The belt is made to run against the container which carries only oil.
This oil is made to flow through the oil filter by some piping arrangement.
Further this oil is send to centrifugal dome which rotates at higher rpm and
heavy materials stick on sides of dome and remaining oil falls down.
 CHAPTER-4

CHAPTER-4

WORKING PRINCIPLE

OIL SKIMMER WORKING PRINCIPLE:

 Polymer belt is fixed on the roller with bearing support and it is adjusted for
stiff roll on. The roller shaft is attached with a DC motor which is fixed at the top
of the frame is fitted with support. Both the rollers are attached through with
rotating the belt setup. The other end is clamped with DC motor. The frame is
made with MS square tubes.Belt are fixed with wiping blades which helps in
separating the oil. The motors are connected with the battery the motor rotates the
belt simultaneously. The rotating belt over the surface of water will suck the oil
spread over the surface of the water. The oil is pulled out and they are separated by
means of scrubbing pad. The collected oil is transferred through a port to the
collecting chamber. thus the oil is collected from the water surface and separated
with help of the wiping blades attached to the frame.The metal scraps are also
removed in the water by magnet installation. The scraps metal parts are travelled
with the skimmer belt with the oil and the magnet is induced to remove the metal
parts and it is collected in the separate container

Model- Components Mapping:

 1. 12V DC motor
2. Bearing housing
3. M.S roller
4. Skimmer belt
5. Magnet
6. Metal Frame
7. 12V 5amps power supply

1. 12V DC Motor:
 A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical motors that converts direct
current electrical energy into mechanical energy. The most common types rely on
the forces produced by magnetic fields. Nearly all types of DC motors have some
internal mechanism, either electromechanical or electronic, to periodically change
the direction of current in part of the motor.

2. Bearing housing:
Bearing housing are used to hold the bearing in standard position.

3. M.S Roller:
 It is made up of mild steel. It is hanging with belt in the liquid. It helps to
keep the belt straight due to its weight

4. Skimmer Belt:
The belt should be made of such a material which can easily lift/carry the oil
above head and pour it over the blade. The oil lifts through belt by having the its
materials following inherent properties: 1) Belt material is selected according to its
polar & non-polar properties. Water consists of polar molecules as H+ and OH-
whereas oil doesn’t have any polar molecules hence it reacts as non-polar element.
Polar & non-polar molecules attract towards their respective elements and bond
with it. Moreover to these, Oil is lighter in density as compare to water so always
oil floats on it. Hence water and oil form a separate layer in the reservoir. Belt
material has been selected in such a manner so it can react as a non-polar element
and oil gets attract toward it and get stick on it which permit us to easily lift the oil
through belt. Here we are selecting the belt materials of polymers (non-polar).
like., Cotton, Steel, Rubber, Polyurethane, Oleophilic. 2) Adhesive property of oil
is greater than water so we select such a material for the belt having adhesive
property greater than water and having close to oil, hence it can easily absorbs oil
over the belt which ultimately gets separate from water. Since water having poor
adhesive property, it doesn’t stick much to belt and remains in the reservoir.

5. Magnet:
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This
magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a
magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such
as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc. and attracts or repels other magnets.
6. Metal frame:
Metal frame are fabricated with desired measurement to have a working
model of Oil skimmer.

7. 12v power supply:

12V power supplies (or 12VDC power supplies) are one of the most
common power supplies in use today. In general, a 12VDC output is obtained from
a 120VAC or 240VAC input using a combination of transformers, diodes and
transistors.
Front view:

Side view:
Top view:
Calculation:

Determining Torque & Tension in Belt

NTP 60/2
Where.
N = Motor Speed
T = Torque transmitted by Motor

DC motor :
Motor Spec

1. Voltage: 12V DC

2. Output Speed: 200 +/- 10% RPM

3. No-Load output current: =< 50 mA
4. Rotation Output: CW / CCW
5. Noise: No Gear Noise
6. Stall output: : Slip Gear, Broken Gear is no allowed
7. Output shaft of the axial clearance: < 0.1 0.3mm.
Horizantal clearance requirement < 0.05 Electrical Spec
1. No-Load Speed: 5700 RPM
2. No-Load Current: < 3OmA
3. Rotation: CW 4. Motor#: 370
CHAPTER-5
 CHAPTER-5
RESULT AND CONCLUSION
Results and Discussion:
The Blanket belt oil skimmer satisfactorily performed the skimming action
during test over two oil sample. The absorption rate of the developed Blanket belt
oil skimmer varies according to the properties of the oil. The absorption rate for the
Sample-1 is 190 L/hour and for Sample-2 is 253 L/hour. For an hour of motor
running 0.5 hp = (0.5 × 746) Watt or 0.373 Kilowatt electricity is consumed for
which cost stands (0.373 Unit × 5 BDT/Unit) = 1.865 BDT/hour ($ 0.20 or € 0.19).
Therefore, the blanket belt oil skimmer is capable to absorb 1900 litre of Sample-1
and 2530 litre of Sample-2 spilled oil possible to absorb in 10 hours with least
amount of cost. The study found around 200-300 L/hour of skimming rate for
similar size of belt width in various world-renowned skimmer production
companies. The belt reach (36) is greater for the tested than the conventional
skimmer of the similar single belt width. Since the skimming capacity range is
around the 200 L/hour thus the skimmer is in the category of light heavy duty
items for viscosity 22-310 mPa.s. With the change of the physical properties, the
recovery rate varies significantly. The device is more effective for the absorption
of the oil having lower viscosity.
Again, the graph of Figure 8 depicts that for both of the case absorption rate
is linear and increase with time and becomes constant at some point. This occurs
due to the fact that, belt takes sometimes to get wetted completely and then reach
absorption saturation condition. The longevity of the belt is quite long. The blanket
fiber is attractive to the water also. But when it is immersed in the oil before first
use the sticky ness towards the water molecules drops randomly. However, the
affinity towards oil increases due to the cohesive force of oil molecules. This
nature provides the opportunity to use it for oil absorption. It is not mandatory to
use new blanker for belt purpose; even used items may be applied. For continuous
use, the belt required only detergent washing and drying up. Furthermore, the
blanket fiber is natural and bio degradable thus after use just burring is required to
make it vanish.

Again a simple and anywhere fabric able construction can suit the purpose
of that Blanket belt skimmer. These two aspects reduce the construction and
maintenance cost of the skimmer.

Conclusions:
Spill prevention is the best possible strategy for oil spill response. The
conventional spilled oil removal process is manual. So these are harmful to the
human health as well as time consuming. After being concerned with the related
problem with the spilled oil and the costly belt oil skimmer, a single Blanket belt
economic oil skimmer construction project has performed. Due to the scarcity of
the oil skimmer belt replacement materials, locally found new or used blanket that
used for warming is employed successfully for recovery of spill oil in an artificial
tray model. The work clearly demonstrates that blanket has a miraculous ability to
clean up oil spills and its properties must be put into application. The projected oil
skimmer belt can skim major portion of oil at steady and gentle flowing water up
to 2 cm layer. Again, the overall cost of the developed project is 10,000 BDT
(around $ 150 or € 100) much lower than the existing oil skimmer of 40,000-
50,000 BDT (around $ 700 or € 400).
The replacement of the conventional belt with blanket belt radically lowers
the maintenance cost and easy availability. The design and construction of the
project is simple thus easy to moderate it for the several conditions as required.
According to the volume of the spilled oil, the width and the number of the belt can
be re-designed easily to get more absorption. So blanket-belt oil skimmer is
economic and feasible for implication. However, several conditions affect the
skimming performance. Thus the foregoing recommendation is suggested for
future work as given below.

i. The width of belt used in the project is 4.6 inch and the reach of the belt is
38 inch. Belt dimension should vary for high recovery and multi belt project
may considered.
ii. Since the oil skimmer is usually portable in nature thus model must be
light weighted.
iii. The performance may be considered with varying the motor speed.
iv. In case of turbulence condition, a casing should apply around the lower
pulley to get better performance.
v. A skimmer performance is affected by the thickness of the oil layer,
weather and emulsification of oil, presence of debris. Thus practical
application is necessary before adoption.
vi, The longevity of the Blanket belt will significantly affect the cost.
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