You are here:
PERFORMANCE TESTING OF THE TETRADYNE HIGH SPEED AIR JET SKIMMER
Citation:
McCracken, W. AND S. Schwartz. PERFORMANCE TESTING OF THE TETRADYNE HIGH SPEED AIR JET SKIMMER. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-78/187.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluated the performance of the prototype Tetradyne High Speed Air Jet Skimmer at their OHMSETT test facility at Leonardo, New Jersey. The skimmer depends on an air-jet impacting the water surface at an angle and deflecting rapidly moving, floating, spilled material laterally into a low-current chamber for ease in recovery. The objective of the testing program was to determine the ability of the Tetradyne skimmer to pick up a large area, thin film (0.1-1.0 mm) spill of floating oil in water currents up to 3 m/s. The four test fluids used during the program, No. 2 fuel oil, naphtha, and two lubricating stocks, encompassed a wide range of physical properties. The recovery performance parameters determined were recovery rate and throughput efficiency. The effects of film thickness, fluid viscosity, fluid specific gravity, and fluid interfacial tension on skimmer performance parameters under fast current conditions are presented. Modifications for futher improving performance are recommended.