may not work as effectively if there are detergents, cleaners or other surfactants in the water that interfere with the oleophilic attraction. Weir skimmers are not affected by chemicals. Effects of trash and debris: Trash and debris may block or interfere with the operation of oil skimmers. Skimming direction: Some skimmers only remove oil from one direction. In some situations, such as skimming from pits and tanks, it can be important to remove oil from all directions. Service Access: Some skimmers such as disc skimmers, or weir skimmers with skimmer mounted pumps, contain heavy serviceable items of equipment mounted on the skimmer. This may require special lifting equipment and confined space entry safety considerations before servicing. Applications The use of skimmers in industrial applications is 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 an oil skimmer may give greater overall oil separation efficiency for improved discharge wastewater quality. All oil skimmers will pick up a percentage of water with the oil which will need to be decanted to obtain concentrated oil. Types There are two main types of oil skimmer: oleophilic and non-oleophilic. Oleophilic skimmers include disc, belt, tube, brush, mop, brush, grooved disc, smooth drum, and grooved drum. Non-oleophilic skimmers include weir (manual or self-adjusting). Oleophilic Oleophilic skimmers function by using an element such as a drum, disc, belt, rope or mop to which the oil adheres. The oil is wiped from the oleophilic surface and collected in a tank. As the oil is adhering to a collection surface the amount of water collected when oil is not present will be limited. Belt Belt oil skimmers are one of the most reliable and economical equipment for removing liquid surface floating oil with low electric consumption without the need for any consumable. They can effective remove all kinds of floating oil (including machine oil, kerosene, diesel oil, lubricating oil, plant oil and other liquids with specific gravity less than water. This is a versatile skimmer design, it can remove floating oil no matter what the thickness of the oil layer is. Drum Drum skimmers operate by using one or more drums made from oleophilic material. As the drums rotate oil adheres to the surface, separating it from the