The Many Uses of Recycled Motor Oil

Recycling used motor oil keeps oil out of landfills and ensures that this oil is available for re-use, reconditioning, reprocessing or re-refining. From a purely environmental point of view, the best thing that the motor oil consumer can do is to buy a longer-lasting oil. In that way, less used oil is generated in the first place. Over 380 million gallons of used oil is recycled each year according to the U.S. EPA, which equates to over 50 percent of all motor oil purchased annually. Currently, used motor oil can be re-used or recycled one of three ways – reconditioning, reprocessing or re-refining. It is important to note that each process can be important in helping to manage the overall volume of used motor oil in the U.S.

Currently 14 percent of used motor oil is re-refined and the consumer demand for this product has not made re-refining economically efficient for oil manufacturers.

Reconditioning

In some industries, oil is filtered through a filtration system or otherwise cleaned. This process removes insoluble impurities so the oil potentially can be used again and again., such cleaning does extend the oil’s life and use.

Re-Use and Reprocessing

Both lubricants, such as motor oil, and fuels, such as heating oil, are petroleum products. When an oil can no longer perform its original lubrication job, it may be perfectly suitable for Re-use and a second life as a fuel petroleum product in, say, a power plant with little or no treatment. If some treatment is needed, reprocessing of used motor oil removes some water and particles so that the oil can be burned and used as fuel to generate heat or electricity for commercial operations. 74 percent of all oil re-use/recycling in the U.S. is for burning in turbines, incinerators, power plants, cement kilns and manufacturing facilities (asphalt, steel, etc…). An additional 11 percent of used motor oil is burned in specifically designed industrial space heaters. This creates a valuable form of energy, which helps our economy by avoiding the need to refine new commercial heating oil from imported crude oil.

Recycle Your Oil

It is not true that your oil is no good after you change it. Research from many sources, including Caterpillar, Cummins diesel, the EPA and many more, show that you can recycle crankcase oil.

Just do some simple calculations and you can quickly see just how much money you are wasting by getting rid of your oil since motor oil runs anywhere from $12 per gallon to over $30 per gallon.

There is a pneumatic tool available that can make recycling oil, hydraulic fluid, antifreeze and other fluids very simple and extremely cost effective. After the initial cost of the equipment, you will see it pay for itself with your recycling of used fluids.

As an example, you can reuse filtered oil in a few different ways;

• As engine oil
• Burn in your diesel at 1 gallon filtered oil with 3 gallons diesel
• Waste oil burner, but clean the oil so you get very few clinkers.

Of these, the most cost effective is as engine oil since new motor oil is so expensive per gallon. Blend using 3 gallons recycled oil with 1 gallon new oil. The reason you add the new oil is just in case your oil was over tempted, you are adding back the additives. Experts have informed us this formula is more than adequate.

This system is so good that Stauff Inc., a major filter and fluid systems company, suggests you filter your new oil through this system. Why? Your recycled oil will be cleaner than the new oil you buy off the shelf.

WATCH for the video coming soon that will demonstrate this, along with oil analysis to confirm what we say. Also, you will see at that time the new filter system we put together with the pneumatic tool.

This filter system will be available soon; however, the Spillpro pneumatic tool is available now.

Benefits of Recycling

Car Fluids: The Basics

There are many components that make up an automobile, including the different fluids necessary for the car to run properly. The main auto fluids are:

• Oil
• Transmission fluid
• Coolant
• Power steering fluid
• Brake fluid

Oil is a lubricant that keeps the moving parts of an engine moving by reducing internal friction. It is typically a little thicker than cooking oil and a light, golden brown color. However, the color of new oil can vary from clear base oils to black graphite oils.

Automatic transmission fluid functions in two main ways:

1. It creates a smooth ride by creating a hydraulic coupling between the engine and transmission.
2. It eases shifting by using a series of fluid valves to shift gears automatically and lubricates the moving parts. It usually has a red coloring added, but can be dyed any color.

Coolant is located in the radiator; it is a bright green or orange color and is a bit thicker then water. Its purpose is to move the temperature heat extremes in the engine to a radiator where it can be cooled. Most coolants are made up of water with antifreeze.

Antifreeze is toxic it can contain high levels of chromium, lead, copper, silver and cadmium, so it should be handled as household hazardous waste. It is extremely important not to dump used antifreeze on land or into a ditch, septic system, storm drain, sanitary sewer or dry well, as it can cause serious problems with water quality and has a high potential of harming wildlife, humans and pets. Clean up any spills carefully to keep pets from ingesting it. The sweet smell of the main component (ethylene glycol) attracts animals, but it is a potent nerve toxin and can kill them in very small doses.

Power steering fluid helps make maneuvering vehicles easier by using a hydraulic pump and cylinder to assist the driver. Power steering fluid is usually red, and is similar to (and usually interchangeable with) automatic transmission fluid.

Brake fluid is pumped from the pedal to the brake in order for the car to stop.

Unfortunately, these car fluids are problematic for human health and the environment. Hydraulic fluids typically enter the environment through spills or leaks; it can take more than a year for the components of the fluid to degrade within a natural setting. Three different types of hydraulic fluid currently exist, and their chemical components vary; therefore, the health effects are specific to each variety.

By properly disposing of car fluids, or recycling them, we can avoid the harmful effects of these car components.

How to Filter Used Motor Oil & Make Diesel Fuel

Diesel engines run on a special fuel that is really a mixture of gasoline and oil. As a result of this fact, used motor oil can be filtered and mixed with existing diesel as an additive that will double the yield of the fuel. Using old motor oil and blending it for diesel fuel has quite a few advantages in savings of time and money, as well as helping the environment. Instead of searching for a way to recycle or properly dispose of used motor oil, using this method it can be re-used in the fuel tank of the same vehicle it came out of (as long as the vehicle is a diesel fueled one!).

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Used motor oil
• The Spillpro pneumatic recovery unit with filters

• 15 gallon container.

Step 1

Examine the oil that you are going to use for this project. Make sure that it doesn’t have any liquid contaminants that you can see or smell. Some contaminants that are common in oil from engine damage include water and anti-freeze. If the oil has either of these components in it, do not use it for this project.

Step 2

Using the Spillpro, fill the unit with no more than 7.5 gallons of your used oil

Step 3

Pressurize the Spillpro and empty the used oil from the pneumatic vacuum. As it passes through the attached filters and the evacuation hose, it arrives into your container ready to be blended

Step 4

Once you have filtered all of the oil in this container, measure the amount of oil using the markers on the side of the container.

Step 5

Add the same amount of diesel fuel into the container as you have oil. For example, if the container now has 5 gallons of filtered used motor oil, then you will add 5 gallons of diesel fuel to the container for blending.

Step 6

Place the cap tightly on the 15 gallon container and begin mixing the diesel fuel and used oil. A minimum blending time of 15 minutes is required. If the solution does not appear to be completely mixed at this time, then it should be mixed for an additional 15 minutes. Repeat until the solution is completely blended.

Step 7

Add this solution to your vehicle as you would normal diesel. The blend is ready to go.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the waste oil from one oil change (approximately one gallon of oil) can ruin the taste of 1 million gallons of drinking water – enough water to supply 50 people for one year. An estimated 200 million gallons of used motor oil, about 1/3 of the total United States consumption, is improperly disposed of each year.

That is just automobiles — imagine trucks and large equipment

The Solution…
There is a common belief that motor oil cannot be reused after an oil change. This, however, is not true. Motor oil can be reprocessed and reused in furnaces to produce heat, and in power plants to generate electricity for homes schools, and businesses. Two gallons of recycled motor oil can generate enough energy to operate the average household for about one day, cook 48 meals in a microwave oven or vacuum a home for 15 months. In addition, after used oil has been properly recycled, (This can be done with simple filtration through pneumatic equipment), it can be used again for lubricating oils that meet the same specifications as motor oil created from new materials. Recycling used oil would save the United States 1.3 million barrels of oil per day.

Bioremediation is a fairly new technique within the past ten years that has yielded both remarkable and yet some setback results. As to advantages, bioremediation is a “natural process”, it destroys the target chemicals, its’ usually less expensive than other technologies, and can be used where the problem is located. Disadvantages of bioremediation include the fact that little is still known concerning specifics on its effects in areas having multiple contaminations, it often takes longer than other treatment methods, and that it requires constant monitoring to ensure effectiveness.

Bioremediation has diverse effects on different sites of saturated soils. The most vital factors that control the effectiveness of bioremediation are the permeability of the soil and the biodegradability of the organic compound. The type of soil will determine its permeability. Fine-grained soils such as clays and silts have a lower permeability then coarse grain soils like sand and gravel. Bioremediation is cost competitive and requires 45-140 dollars per ton of soil to biodegrade (For certain types of bioremediation). This is exceedingly cheap and is a massive economic advantage so companies who just lost capital with a petroleum spill can afford for the site to be remediated. Bioremediation Techniques can be easily combined to make the clean up process more efficient.. This can lead to future research of bioremediation to see if it can be combined with other techniques and maybe even become a part of every day life.

Hydraulic Fluid Recycling

This final report documents the results of laboratory and field evaluations of commercially available recycling units for recycling hydraulic fluid. Previous laboratory efforts demonstrated used hydraulic fluid could be restored to specification performance by removing particulate contaminants and mixing with 25% new fluid. The field demonstration confirmed this by demonstrating fluid performance in test vehicles. Used fluid was drained from the vehicles, processed through approved recycling equipment, such as a pneumatic vacume equiped with the proper filters, then mixed with 25% new fluid, and returned to vehicle service. The vehicle performance was monitored for six months with satisfactory results. In addition, other batches of used fluid were processed through the recycling equipment and analyzed for performance. Results of these additional analysis confirm that used fluid retains most of its additive performance with the exception of anti-foaming ability, but that the addition of the 25% new fluid restored the cleaned up used fluid to specification performance. Lessons learned during the demonstration are identified in the report with the most important lesson being the need for clean processing containers.

A properly equipped pneumatic vacuum is a great idea for this use. Lightweight, mobile, powerful and versatile.

Unique application potentials also exist with bioremediation. For example, contamination under concrete slabs can be remediated by introducing the organisms with horizontal boring or through the slab boring. This can eliminate the need for removal of slabs or buildings as traditional clean up processes would require obviously saving time and money.

The economics of bioremediation are almost always significantly more favorable than other techniques. The primary reason is that there is no need for the hauling and expensive disposal costs of contaminated soils. On sites where contamination is confined to clearly defined areas it can be possible to begin the development process on the clean areas while bioremediation is in progress on the remainder of the site. This is possible because the process is generally not very disruptive and does not require the removal and replacement of large amounts of soil. Furthermore, while conventional remediation often just moves the pollution from one place to another, bioremediation actually eliminates the unwanted materials. Bioremediation should be considered as an environmentally and economically desirable option for any site where hydrocarbon based remediation is required.

Bioremediation is just a fancy word for a fundamental environmental process. Through the use of their natural enzymes, some plants and microorganisms can break down harmful contaminants and recycle them into safe organic matter. People harness this concept to restore the sites of petroleum spills to their former luster.

Although bioremediation is an unparalleled practice in terms of its environmental benefits, some people have questioned its cost-effectiveness. Bioremediation of oil spills is surprisingly cheap when compared to the alternatives, and it’s an especially effective tactic for cleaning contaminated ground water. Microorganisms can be introduced to a water source without pricy, time-wasting excavation.