Planning for a Skimming Capability
Planning for an oil spill response and recovery operation can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Complex plans are often required where spill response needs to be over a wide variety of terrain or seacoast and where numerous types of oils must be recovered under a wide range of operating conditions. Others might be as simple as putting a skimmer in a pond or a tank and letting it run continuously.
Factors to consider in skimmer selection are
- Type and viscosity of oil to be recovered
- Daily capacity required
- Operating conditions
- Power availability and operating environment
- Manpower available or required to operate the system
- Ability to get the skimmer to the oil and/or oil to the skimmer
- Ability to manage recovered oil, water and debris
- Need for redundancy and an ability to operate in a range of conditions
There is a wide range of skimmer types, sizes and capabilities available on the World market. Every skimmer has a performance range in which it can operate effectively. Unfortunately, the selection is often made more with price or budget in mind rather than with task based selection criteria. This is a formula for operating failure and may be the greatest mistake an operator can make. The low-bid skimmer might just not perform as desired, or at all, if the operating parameters are not defined first. As such, the definition of the task should ideally be made before a skimmer is selected.
Fortunately, disc skimmers have a wide operating envelope ranging from diesel to heavy oils, dependent upon size and capacity, and all are relatively efficient. Therefore, it makes sense that if you cannot define precisely what it is that you intend to do with your skimmer, a disc skimmer is a good choice.
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