McTighe oil-water separators are used to separate free floating liquids of differing specific gravities. Some of the applications where our separators are in use are detailed below. Contact McTighe to discuss applications that are not shown in this section.

A: Stormwater Run-off

McTighe oil-water separators are well suited to handle stormwater drainage from industrial facilities, transportation facilities, parking lots, etc. McTighe separators are sized to meet federal, state, and local discharge requirements. Discharges from stormwater run-off typically drain to POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works), rivers, lakes, or secondary treatment ponds.

The large flow range of our standard oil-water separators combined with our self-contained, efficient design promote ease of separation and containment of surface contaminants. McTighe engineers can provide separators installed in parallel for flowrates exceeding 4400 gpm.

B: Groundwater Remediation

McTighe oil-water separators work well as a first step in groundwater treatment systems. The separators will reduce the quantity of free oil in the influent to lengthen the life of carbon canisters, or meet acceptable free oil influent limits into air strippers, dissolved air flotation cells, or bio-reactors. Some wells do not have a constant free product layer; however, our separators are used to catch periodic slugs of free product when they occur.

The automatic water pumpout system we offer is a popular option for transferring the separator discharge to secondary treatment. See Special Configurations in Section 2 (cylindrical separators) and Section 3 (rectangular separators) in this catalog for more information.

C. Vehicle Maintenance and Vehicle Washing

Many state and local requirements call for limits on oil and grease discharge levels to sanitary sewer systems. McTighe offers separators to meet these requirements. Vehicle maintenance systems typically are designed to separate motor oils, transmission fluids, diesel fuel, gasoline, etc. The maximum flowrates usually occur during floor wash down operations.

Vehicle washing applications involve pressure washers using steam and/or detergents for cleaning operations. On most of these installations, there is a large solids load in the influent from gravel and sediment. McTighe recommends installing a grit collection chamber before the oil-water separator. This can consist of trench drains, catch basins, or the McTighe Solids Interceptor Chamber. See Special Configurations in Section 2 (cylindrical separators) and Section 3 (rectangular separators) in this catalog for details on the Solids Interceptor.

IMPORTANT: Vehicle washing and maintenance installations typically incorporate the use of detergents. Chemical emulsions created by detergents will not be removed by enhanced gravity oil-water separators without chemical pretreatment to break the emulsion. Some chemical manufacturers sell "quick release" detergents that are designed to create emulsions during washing operations and then "release" or break the emulsion once the flow velocity slows down in a properly designed oil-water separator. McTighe catalog maximum flow ratings may not be appropriate for systems where detergents are used. Contact McTighe if detergents are going to be used in your system.

D. Transportation Facilities

McTighe oil-water separators are widely incorporated at airports, railroads, gas stations, and other fuel transfer sites. Our separators collect spillage and run-off from fuel loading operations.

F. Spill Protection

On applications where there is the possibility of large oil releases, McTighe separators can be sized to contain the spill and prevent catastrophic discharges. Bulk fuel storage and electrical transformer containment areas are a couple of facilities that frequently use McTighe oil-water separators. In instances where there is a chance that the oil spill volume can exceed the spill capacity of our separator, the McTighe automatic inlet shut-off valve is widely used. See Section 6 for more details on the shut-off valve.