Method and apparatus for pressure washing

摘要

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for removing a contaminant from an object. According to one aspect, an apparatus for washing an object which has contaminant is arranged to recover the contaminant. The apparatus includes a support floor that supports an object to be washed and a basin mounted below the support floor. The basin is divided into a plurality of chambers which include a clean water chamber, a secondary water chamber, an oil containment chamber, and a contaminated water receiving chamber which receives water which is contaminated after it is flowed over the object to remove the contaminant. The contaminated water received in the contaminated water receiving chamber must pass sequentially through the oil containment chamber and the secondary water chamber prior to entering the clean water chamber. The clean water chamber is flowably coupled to the secondary water chamber by a first flowpath near the operational water level, while the secondary water chamber is flowably coupled to the oil containment chamber by a second flowpath near the bottom of the basin. The oil containment chamber is flowably coupled to the contaminated water receiving chamber by a third flowpath near the operational water level. The apparatus also includes a first pump which draws and filters water from the secondary water chamber and returns the filtered water to the clean water chamber.