Hydrocarbon separators

I’mWATER designs and manufactures compact hydrocarbon separators, based on CPI (corrugated plate interceptor) technology.

These systems are based on Stokes’ law to separate oils and hydrocarbons from water.

The core of these units is a corrugated plate module that increases the surface area for separation per unit of volume. The corrugated plates cause oil or hydrocarbon particles to clump together, a phenomenon known as coalescence, making the particles larger and increasing the separation efficiency.

  • The oils float and are collected at the top.
  • The water, containing less than 5 mg/L of hydrocarbons, exits through the middle of the unit, separated from the floating zone by a deflector.
  • At the same time, the heavier solid particles settle at the bottom of the unit and are typically collected in a conical hopper for thickening and subsequent purging of the system.

  • Materials: These separators can be made from stainless steel or fiberglass.
  • They can be designed to be placed on the surface, made of stainless steel, with legs and a conical shape, or buried, cylindrical in shape, and made of fiberglass (for example, buried for a car wash).