In-House Techniques for Recycling Used Oil

According to statistics, Australia generates about 250 million litres of used oil annually. Where does all the oil go to? While some of the oil is recycled, some of it is disposed of the wrong way. It poses a grave danger to the environment and communities. Therefore, plant managers must examine how they deal with used oil. It is especially the case if you consider that customers are increasingly leaning towards environmentally conscious businesses. If your facility disposes of waste oil by selling it to third parties, then perhaps you will want to learn how you can recycle the used oil in-house. Read on. 

On-Site Reconditioning -- During routine plant operations, contaminants such as dirt, water, dust and metal shavings, among other impurities, find their way into the oil system. Accumulation of the waste materials renders the oil unusable. One way you can recycle the waste oil is by reconditioning it onsite. The process involves filtering the oil using a robust filtration system that separates the impurities from the oil. The oil has to go through the filtration system several times to ensure thorough cleansing. Reconditioning prolongs the life of waste oil and is best suited for plants and factories that produce a lot of waste oil. 

Burning for Energy Recovery -- The term waste oil does not mean that the oil cannot be used in its 'waste' state for energy purposes. In this approach, waste oil is thoroughly filtered to remove all impurities and contaminants such as water and metal shavings. Once there is an assurance that the oil is clean, it is then burnt, and the heat is used to power different plant operations. However, you need to understand that once the oil is burned, then it cannot be recycled again. Therefore, this technique works best with waste oil that has already been recycled several times since disposing of it in landfills is not an option. 

Re-Fining to Base Stock -- If you have enough resources, then refining waste oil into new lubricating oil is the way to go. The reason why is that this form of waste oil recycling involves several steps that include dewatering, distillation, hydro-treatment and elimination of impurities. The result of the thorough recycling process is a product that is as close to virgin oil as possible. Therefore, refining waste oil to the base stock form prolongs service life, which makes the process the gold standard for oil recycling. However, make sure that refined oil meets petroleum standards before using it.    

For more info, contact a waste oil disposal plant.