Industrial Wastewater Engineering Solutions

API
Oil water Separators
Selecting the right API oil water
separator for the application is key to
the successful outcome of the entire
treatment system performance.

The API separator design is based

on the American Petroleum Institute
(API) Monographs on Refinery
Environmental Control, Design and
Operation of Oil-Water Separators.
The flow capacities of the design are
based on an influent of fresh water
and No. 2 fuel oil at 40F operating
temperature. The API guide has
established optimum depth to width
ratios with controlled velocities
allowing oil droplets of 150 microns
diameter or larger to separate from
the water phase as predicted by
Stokes Law. The rectangular shape of
the API separator along with an
efficient diffusion baffle and weirs
creates a consistent laminar flow
throughout the separation chamber
cross section. This allows optimum
use of the working volume.

Operation
Flow Diffusion
API separator uses a special
diffusion baffle to diffuse the flow
prior to the separation chamber.
Oil Skimming
Oil skimming utilizes the specific
gravity differential between lighter oil
and heavier water. The oil floats on
the surface and in so doing displaces
the water. Since oil has a lower
specific gravity than water the level of
the oil upstream of the oil baffle rises
above the water level set by the water
weir plate.
As the oil continues to accumulate
the level rises until it spills into the oil
skimmer reservoir and automatically
exits the separator via gravity flow.

Skimmer Types
Three types of skimmers can be
provided, fixed weir oil skimming
baffle integrated with an oil reservoir,
adjustable rotating slotted pipe
skimmer and the drum skimmer.

Sludge scrapers, sludge screw

augers hopper bottoms and inverted
pyramid bottoms can be provided
depending on the style of sludge
removal required or desired for a
particular application.

The drum skimmer design is a motor

driven stainless steel drum spanning
the tank width partially submerged in
the water. As the drum rotates oil
attaches to the drum and is removed
via a blade riding on the drum face.

Chain & Flight Skimmers

Three styles of flight skimmers are
offered to remove solids and oils
depending on the required design to
fit the application.

Solids Removal
Solids are typically present in varying
amounts in waste water. The API
design is excellent for handling solids
without upset. If the solids loading is
light, a flat bottom design may be
sufficient. However, when heavier
solids loads are expected hopper
bottoms should be used to allow easy
solids removal and prevent solids
accumulation from reducing the
effective volume of the separation
chamber.
As each application is different and
solids occur in a wide range of sizes,
different concentrations and densities
ultimate solids settling performance is
quite variable and each application
must be reviewed for proper API
design.
Refinery sludge can be highly viscous
with high concentrations of solids and
oils
mixed
together.
These
characteristics need to be considered
during system design for sludge
removal as well as cleanout during
maintenance.
Inlet screens can be provided as
required or desired.

Type 1: surface drag skimmer located

at the tank top to move floating oils to
the oil skimmer.
Type 2: sludge scraper located at
tank bottom to move settled sludge
from the effluent end toward a sludge
collecting v-hopper at the influent
end.
Type 3: types 1 & 2 are combined
into a single system that skims the
surface and scrapes the bottom to
perform both oil movement and
sludge movement.
Chain & flight construction can be
provided
as
hardened
carbon/stainless chain, sprockets &
shafts or polymeric chain &
sprockets. Each material has differing
life expectancies, stretch modulus
and liquid compatibilities. The flight
construction of preference is a
fiberglass channel design where
strength vs. length and liquid
compatibilities are usually excellent.
Wearing components such as flight
shoes, guide strips and other
components are typically UHMWPE
or XLPE.

Industrial Wastewater Engineering Solutions

discharge oil concentration of 10
PPM or less with an oil droplet size of
20 or 30-micron oil droplet.

API Features
Some typical API features as dictated
by the API 421 are:
Depth-to-width ratio 0.3-0.5
Length-to-width ratio of 5:1
Horizontal
velocity
no
greater than 3 feet per
second
Removal of oil droplets 150
micron & larger
Influent diffuser or reaction
jet design

Separator Types
API421 outlines two types of
separator: 1. API gravity differential
separator and 2. API coalescing
separator.

Covers
Multi-sectional covers are provided to
contain vapors. Each section is
attached to the tank and to
neighboring covers via gasket and
bolts.

Gravity Separation vs. Coalescing

Plate Separators
Two basic types of oil water separator
exist today in varying types of design,
but all are derived from these two
types
of
design.

Hatches can be provided for

inspections without having to remove
bolts and heavy cover sections.

The first and oldest type is gravity or

conventional
separation,
simple
separation via gravity (density
differential between two immiscible
liquids leads to one of them rising
above the other). This design, when
designed
properly
(or
even
improperly) provides a certain tank
length, width and depth that provides
a wide, quiet spot in the pipeline to
give oils time to rise. This design
(also known as an API separator)
generally provides a discharge oil
concentration of +/-100 PPM based
on a 150-micron droplet size. The API
type design relies on a large water
volume shaped as dictated by the
API421
criteria
to
maximize
separation.

Nitrogen
blanketing
and
GAC
vapor/vent scrubbers can be provided
to remove VOCs from vapor space
content.
API Performance
While the API421 guide typically
provides for an effluent discharge
performance of 100 mg/L, 150 micron
oil droplets it is possible with a
properly designed API to provide
performance in the 50 mg/L and
larger range.
These performance figures are
typically independent of the influent
concentrations and are calculated as
if in an ideal environment, which is
not accurate to real-world experience.
Actual
performance
is
highly
dependent on the type of waste
entering the separator and the
conditions within the separator.
System Considerations
The API separator is not a complete
system in and of itself. A full
treatment system also consists of
peripheral components such as
sludge pumps, oil pumps, feed
pumps, walkways, alarms and other
components needed to complete the
application.
Tank Construction
The API design can be provided as a
factory assembled, A36 coated
carbon steel design for above or
below grade or concrete for below
ground installations.

What is the Difference

Between Separator
Types?

The API design has its origin in the

refineries of the world where the
excess volumes are advantageous
for reducing a wide variety of oil &
solids types and characteristics.
The coalescing design is known by
many names i.e. parallel plate
interceptor,
corrugated
plate
interceptor, slant rib coalescer so on
and so forth. However, the concept,
operation and design are generally
the same. The coalescing concept is
based on having a large surface area
in contact with the wastestream
(coalescing plates). The more surface
area provided, the more enhanced
the separation process will typically
be. By using the coalescing media,
the size of the tank is reduced and a
higher performance is attained than
by gravity separation. Pan America's
Flopak coalescing design provides a

Coalescing Oil Water Separators

are passive, physical, oil water
separator systems designed for
removal of oils, fuels, hydraulic fluids,
LNAPL and DNAPL products from
water. Environmental's designed
performance can be described by a
combination of Stoke's Law and
current coalescing plate theory,
wherein; the oil droplet rise rate and
other parameters dictate the surface
area required for gravity & coalescing
separation.
Gravity Separators also referred to
as API oil water separators are also
passive, physical separation devices
where the tank is basically an empty,
baffled design that provides sufficient
retention time to allow oils to
separate. This type of oil water
separator is very common and lower
in performance than a coalescing
design.
Separation Process: The water/oil
mixture enters the separator and is
spreadout horizontally, distributed
through an energy and turbulencediffusing device. The mixture enters
the Flopak coalescing media where
laminar and sinusoidal flow is
established and the oils impinge on
the
media
surface.
As
oils
accumulate they coalesce into larger
droplets, rising upward through the
pack corrugations until they reach the
top of the pack, where they detach
and rise to the water's surface. At the
same time solids encounter the
media
and
slide
down
the
corrugations, falling into the v-hopper
under
the
Flopak
media.
Stoke's Law: This equation relates
the terminal settling or rise velocity of
a smooth, rigid sphere in a viscous
fluid of known density and viscosity to
the diameter of the sphere when
subjected to a known force field
(gravity). The equation is:

Industrial Wastewater Engineering Solutions

V
=
(2gr)(d1-d2)/9
where
V = velocity of rise (cm sec-),
g = acceleration of gravity (cm sec-),
r = "equivalent" radius of particle
(cm),
dl = density of particle (g cm -),
d2 = density of medium (g cm-), and
= viscosity of medium (dyne sec
cm-).
Coalescence: Gravity separation
utilizes the difference in specific
gravity between the oil and water. Oil
separates from a fluid at a rate
explained by Stoke's Law. The
formula predicts how fast an oil
droplet will rise or settle through
water based on the density and size
of the oil droplet size and the distance
the object must travel.
Our separators are built to exploit the
variables
of
Stokes
Law.
With the use of our Flopak media oil
only need rise a short distance before
encountering
the
oleophilic,
coalescing media plates inside the
separation chamber as opposed to
rising a great distance in gravity
separation before reaching the
waters surface. Upon impinging on
the plates the oils coalesce (gather)
into larger droplets until the droplet
buoyancy is sufficient to pull away
from the media and rise to the water's
surface. The design will meet
particular design criteria as indicated
below:

The hydraulic distribution of the

influent flow must assure full usage
of the cross-sectional area of the
media to fully utilize the plate pack's
surface area.
Flow control and direction must be
determined to prevent hydraulic short
circuiting around, under or over the
media pack.
A laminar flow condition must be
maintained (Reynolds "Re" number
less than 500) in order to assist
droplets to rise. Per the American
Petroleum Institutes (API)
Publication 421 of February 1990.
Horizontal flow through velocities
in the separator must not exceed 3
feet per minute or 15 times the rate
of rise of the droplets whichever is
smaller.
The media containment chamber
design, plate design/angle and
spacing sufficient to facilitate removal

of accumulating solids. Plates are to

be angled at 60 from the horizontal.

Flopak Coalescing Media Design

Pan America's Flopak coalescing
media provides a laminar flow path
that creates a quiescent zone to
facilitate the impact with and
attachment of oils to the media
surface by reducing waste stream
turbulence and velocity. This control
of the waste stream creates a more
ideal environment for oil removal.
By virtue of our Flopak media design,
solids will also collide with the media
and settle to the separator bottom to
some degree, depending on the
solids characteristics and loading.
Due to oil typically being lighter than
water, they (oils) will rise up the
coalescing plate. As the oil droplets
rise up the plate they will coalesce or
come together with other droplets,
creating progressively larger droplets.
Once the droplet size is sufficient or
the droplet reaches the top of the
media plate the droplet pulls away
from the plate and rises to the water
surface. To some degree, the solids
replicate this process in reverse
(settling).

Oil Descriptions
Oils and fuels can exist in a variety
of states depending on the forces
exerted on them.
Free Oils: Oils in a natural state will
typically be a free and/or dispersed
product, meaning it will maintain its
typical
characteristics,
(oily,
hydrophobic) and will eventually form
into a layer separate from the water
phase. The free phase oil can also be
dispersed or spread throughout the
body of the water due to being broken
into a range of droplet sizes.
Dispersed Oils: Are oil droplets that
have been spread throughout the
body of the water due to an oil droplet
smaller than the free droplet.
Emulsions: oils can be changed to
an emulsified state where the oil
droplet size is drastically reduced and
with it, its electrical strength. This is
achieved by mechanical shearing
forces where the reduced oil
molecule becomes a temporary
companion to water molecule or by a
third, chemical component that
controls the oil molecule and forces it

into contact with the water molecule.

The chemical being the bridge
between the water and oil holds it in a
stable, permanent or semi-permanent
state.
Dissolved: The oils are dissolved
into solution with the water due to
their innate characteristics, nature
and external influences.
Crude Oils
Crude oil is
characteristics.

classified

by

its

Class A: Light, Volatile Oils. these

oils are highly fluid, often clear,
spread rapidly on solid or water
surfaces, have a strong odor, a high
evaporation rate, and are usually
flammable. They penetrate porous
surfaces such as dirt and sand, and
may be persistent in such a matrix.
They do not tend to adhere to
surfaces;
flushing
with
water
generally removes them. Class A oils
may be highly toxic to humans, fish,
and other biota. Most refined
products and many of the highest
quality light crudes can be included in
this class.
Class B: Non-Sticky Oils. These oils
have a waxy or oily feel. Class B oils
are less toxic and adhere more firmly
to surfaces than Class A oils,
although they can be removed from
surfaces by vigorous flushing. As
temperatures rise, their tendency to
penetrate
porous
substrates
increases and they can be persistent.
Evaporation of volatiles may lead to a
Class C or D residue. Medium to
heavy paraffin-based oils fall into this
class.
Class C: Heavy, Sticky Oils. Class C
oils are characteristically viscous,
sticky or tarry, and brown or black.
Flushing with water will not readily
remove this material from surfaces,
but the oil does not readily penetrate
porous surfaces. The density of Class
C oils may be near that of water and
they often sink. Weathering or
evaporation of volatiles may produce
solid or tarry Class D oil. Toxicity is
low, but wildlife can be smothered or
drowned when contaminated. This
class includes residual fuel oils and
medium to heavy crudes.

Industrial Wastewater Engineering Solutions

Class D: Non fluid Oils. Class D oils
are relatively non-toxic, do not
penetrate porous substrates, and are
usually black or dark brown in color.
When heated, Class D oils may melt
and coat surfaces making cleanup
very difficult. Residual oils, heavy
crude oils, some high paraffin oils,
and some weathered oils fall into this
class.
These classifications are dynamic in
that the characteristics can change
depending
on
temperature
or
evaporation or other conditions. So,
one class can become another and
can also revert to its class depending
on external influences.

Custom twin APIs

Reference System Photos

API before paint

Concrete API-CPI 6,000 GPM

Elevated API combined with CRT chemical treatment system and DAF