Oil water separators North Carolina are important pieces of equipment that are common in industrial settings. They work by suspending solid and oily waste in water that is intended to flow into the environment. While you’re certain to find them aboard ships, oil rigs, and even in the back of a restaurant, here are a few common uses for oil water separators.

Wastewater Treatment Plants

Oil water separators play a very large role in these situations since wastewater treatment plants essentially filter out all the contaminants of a city water system. Without these nifty little gadgets, tons of unsanitary waste would flow directly into the local ecosystem. Thanks to oil water separators, they filter out contaminants like petroleum, so that cleaner water is safely restored.

City and Street Drainwater

You may not often think about it, but when it rains in an environment where there is no natural ground percolation, all that water has to go somewhere. That somewhere is into the stormwater grates that feeds into the manholes in the middle of the street. As the water makes its way to the treatment plant, it picks up a ton of oil and grime from the streets where it is cleaned by oil water separators.

Food Industry Waste

Some of the most waste-producing businesses in operation are restaurants since a lot of excess oil waste occurs when cooking food. The oil water separators are usually housed in the restaurant, somewhere between the dishwasher and the city drain. It’s always something the manager knows to keep an eye out for, since the filters can build up quite a bit of junk during a normal workweek.

Thankfully, oil and water separators can play a huge role in keeping the environment clean, as well as helping businesses keep their actual waste output down.