Oil Recycling Technology

Collecting Old Oil

• The first step in oil recycling is to drain the used oil from the vehicle̵7;s sump and store it in containers set aside for collecting oil. Technicians take care to avoid contaminating it with antifreeze, gasoline and other substances that might alter the oil and complicate the recovery process. The used oil is then transported to the recycler for processing.

Vacuum Distillation

• Vacuum distillation is one technology used to recycle oil. The process pumps the air from a chamber containing discarded oil, creating a vacuum. The low pressure causes water to boil out of the oil at temperatures low enough to avoid degrading the oil itself. The water turns into vapor and is collected for separate use or disposal. Other steps such as wiped-film evaporation, which also works under vacuum, remove other contaminants from the oil. Depending on what finished products the recycler wants to sell, he may further process the oil by passing it through Fuller̵7;s Earth; this clay-like substance further cleans the oil, leaving it with a clearer color.

New Additives

• Although the oil-recycling process yields clean oil, commercial motor oil also contains additives such as detergents to suspend dirt particles and compounds to make the oil flow better at sub-freezing temperatures. The oil distributor can use the recycled oil as-is for industrial applications or mix fresh additives to make it suitable for use as motor oil.

Diesel Engines

• Many types of diesel engines can burn used oil as a diesel fuel-oil mixture. Recycling equipment filters solid particles from the oil, then combines it with the diesel fuel. The process is simpler than re-refining for motor-oil use and eliminates the need for transporting it to a separate facility for processing. The resulting blend burns in diesel engines with no performance, maintenance or emissions problems.