Posted Monday, November 12th, 2018

Fuelchief define used oil exactly as what the name suggests, any oil that is petroleum (or synthetically) as any oil that has been refined from crude oil or any synthetic oil that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities.

When it comes to recycling week, us in the fuel industry must do our part when it comes to educating and informing our team and customers about recycling and reusing used motor oil. Recycling will always be the preferred method (as opposed to disposal) and can provide great environmental benefits. Recycled used motor oil can be re-refined into new oil, processed into fuel oils, and used as raw materials for the petroleum industry.

During normal use of oil, impurities such as dirt, metal scrapings, water, or chemicals can get mixed in with the oil, so that in time the oil no longer performs well. Eventually, this used oil must be replaced with virgin or re-refined oil to do the job at hand. But what can be done with the waste oil? Well we are glad you asked. There are many uses for recycled oil, 5 of which are listed below:

  1. As an industrial burner oil
  2. Moulding the oil to help release products from their moulds (e.g. pressed metal products, concrete)
  3. Bitumen based products
  4. As an additive in manufactured products
  5. Re-refined base oil for use as a lubricant, hydraulic or transformer oil

It is great to see some of our clients that use these methods along with storing the waste oil safely in our DC tank product. A well known client of ours recently bought one of our DC tanks and used it to house their waste oil, which in-turn is used to heat a swimming pool during winter. Another client collects their waste oil only to recycle it and use it as a lubricant for their cement products. There are different ways to recycle used oil, here are some of the ways recommended by the Australian Government:

  • Filtering the oil to remove any solids present in the oil
  • Demineralisation to remove inorganic material and certain additives
  • Propane de-asphalting to remove the heavier bituminous fractions
  • Distillation to physically separate the components of lubricating oil by boiling range
  • Solvent extraction to dissolve and remove undesirable compounds, and
  • Hydro-finishing to improve physical properties of a re-refined base-oil.

The Australian Government have a scheme in place for companies to benefit. These benefit rates for recyclers vary depending on the extent to which the oil is processed and the end product of the recycling activity. To find out more about this initiative just visit this link: https://www.ato.gov.au/business/fuel-schemes/product-stewardship-for-oil-program/

In New Zealand there is a scheme that is implemented by the organisation R.O.S.E which stands for (Recovering Oil Saves the Environment). This scheme has been set up with the purpose to manage and contract the collection of used (waste) oil to be reused as an alternative fuel source to diesel, light fuel oil (LFO), and gas. R.O.S.E. promotes reusing the used oil to assist in minimising the potential for illegal discharges to the environment and to provide a sustainable end use for waste oil products. To find out more visit the link: http://rosenz.co.nz/

If you are outside of Australia and New Zealand contact your and need more information on waste oil and recycling it, contact your local council or environmental government body.

If you do not see a use in recycling used oil, then it is imperative that you dispose of used oil in the correct way that that is through collecting it according to your countries standards and disposing of it at a proper collection site such as:

  • Oil retailers
  • DIY stores
  • Refuse transfer stations
  • Landfills

Used oil must not be disposed of into drains, general waste collection, by burning or onto land. Contact your local and regional councils for more information on where used oil can be disposed of and what rules apply.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS:

We thought we would leave you with these two interesting facts shared by jiffylube.com:

  • If you recycle just 7.5 litres of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours.
  • Motor oil that isn’t disposed of properly releases about 25 times more oil into the environment than what spills from all modes of oil transportation combined.

 

Blog article by Praneel Lal