Checks and Tips
1. Oil In Bilge: The separator is suitable for separating a small quantity of oil in the bilge and not the other way around. If there is a mixture consisting of a small quantity of water in oil, better not to pass it through the OWS and directly transfer it to the waste oil tank for sludge disposal to shore or for incineration.
2. Keep Viscosity in Limit: Highly viscous oil if supplied for oily water separation will clog the filter. It is important to keep the viscosity of the oil within 1000 mm2/s
3. Discharge Outside Separator: Never discharge or drain the water-oil mixture from the separator abruptly out of OWS as it will lead to the separated oil adhering to coalescers, making it inoperative. Ensure discharge of the collected separated oil outside the separator and clean the internals of the OWS by supplying water.
4. Install Dust Filter: While using OWS for discharging bilge mixture containing dust and sand (a coarse-grained entity), it will be difficult for the coalescer filter to pass dust and sand due to their sizes. This will reduce the operating hours of the filter and in turn the efficiency of the OWS.
The ideal service life of the filter normally ranges from 1-2 years depending upon the manufacturing process, considering the daily operation of one hour. It is advisable to install a dust filter in the inlet line of the OWS to avoid this trouble.
5. Exchanging Probe for Fault Finding: In most of the 15ppm OWS models, the oil level detecting probe and transmitting converter in the 1st and 2nd stage chamber are identical. In the event of trouble, exchange these with each other, between the chambers, as this will help in finding out the source of trouble quickly.
6. Keep Check On Heating Device: If a heating device is provided, ensure it is ON when OWS is in operation and switched OFF before OWS is stopped. In case when the OWS is run for a long time, keep track of the heater for overheating of coils. If the separator is overheated to a high extent, there may be some production of inflammable gases inside.
7. Protect Internal Coating: The OWS internals are applied with tar epoxy coating, which is inflammable. Avoid bringing fire near to it or performing welding over the surface or body as the heat generated will damage the coating, making OWS susceptible to corrosion
8. Check Water Level: Ensure that the separator is initially filled with seawater before the bilge mixture is supplied to it. This is to increase the life of filters and also to maintain the operational efficiency of the separator
9. Prevent Leakage: Ensure the means provided to avoid leaking or flowing out of water due to the siphoning effect. Failure to do so will allow the oil to flow into the secondary chamber highly affecting the treatment capability of the machine and clogging the 2nd stage filters
10. Check Effluent: Frequent checks on effluent are to be done to assess the performance of the separator. If the effluent is found contaminated, immediately stop the separator and take preventive actions
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