At times, it was almost impossible to get through on Gablinger Industriestrasse: Countless vacuum trucks and trucks with 1,000-liter canisters on their way to the separation plant clogged the road. Every day, between 30 and 40 vacuum trucks from 7 districts delivered water contaminated with oil. That corresponds to around 700 m³.
"Our site is in the middle of the flood zone. Fortunately, our site was not affected, but some of our employees were. It was clear that we wanted to help. We are pleased that we were able to offer enough space for the facility and thus do our bit to help remedy the consequences of the flood," says Andreas Frank, Managing Director at STAUB & CO. - SILBERMANN and himself a long-time THW volunteer.
The THW operated the system for separating oil-water mixtures on an area of approx. 1,000 m². The SEPCon system can handle 40 m³ of contaminated water per hour. The separation takes place in several stages. The THW explains exactly how it works in a video (link below). The video was recorded during the flood disaster in the Ahr valley, where an identical system was in use.
What happened to the separated components?
- The purified water was fed into the sewage treatment plant via the sewer system.
- The separated oil has a purity of 98% and can be used in refineries. The oil from the plant on our site went to Bayernoil, where a second separation plant was in operation.
- The sludge was incinerated in waste recycling plants.
Meanwhile, the plant has been dismantled, but the traces of the flood are still clearly visible in many places. "Those affected will still need quite a while to deal with the consequences of the flood disaster. We wish everyone a lot of strength," says Andreas Frank.
