Environmental concerns have produced tough new standards to follow regarding all types of wastewater and stiff penalties for those who don’t comply. Most states now consider air compressor condensate as a hazardous waste, or at least considered to be a special oily waste, with discharge limits to municipal treatment plants.
Some air compressor maintenance departments have their air compressor condensate waste hauled off site. This may be more convenient, but will add excessive cost to their operational budget.
Treating air compressor condensate waste on site is simple and effective utilizing the Muscle Compressor Coalescer's gravity separation method, and lowers wastewater costs by up to 98%.
Consider the following:
Compressor condensate is mostly water. A rule of thumb is to expect a 50 to 1 ratio, 50 parts water to 1 part oil. This means there is approximately 1 gallon of oil in every 55 gallon drum of oily water condensate.
Air systems can produce an enormous amount of condensate every day. A 100 horse power compressor operating in a climate of 70 degrees F with 80% humidity will generate approximately 2 gallons of condensate each hour of operation.
Disposal companies charge between $150 to $250 to dispose of a 55 gallon drum of compressor condensate.
For example:
The savings are considerable if you properly separate your condensate, and only pay to dispose of the oil.
If you use the numbers above, a 100 HP compressor, operating 24 hours, will produce a minimum of 48 gallons of condensate a day and only 0.96 gallons of this is oil. It will take you 57 days to accumulate (1) 55 gallon drum of oil with a minimum disposal cost of $150.
In that same 57 days, without separation, you will accumulate almost (50) 55 gallon drums of condensate with a minimum disposal cost of $7,500. That saves you over $7,000 in disposal cost during 2 months of operating!
Why Separate Air Compressor Condensate Yourself