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Waste Motor Oil / removing contamination-carbon
« on: July 03, 2007, 09:53:38 PM »
I've read in various places on this site about people trying to remove carbon from waste lube oil. The carbon particles are very small, and the oils are designed to keep the carbon in suspension - two serious problems. In addition, waste oil often contain contaminates that are liquid - no filter can remove these very well. So I've been thinking about the problem as a chemistry problem, not a mechanical one.
Here's a short paper for a lay audience on contamination: http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=1033&pagetitle=Four%20Lethal%20Diesel%20Engine%20Oil%20Contaminants
You'll see in that article that it's possible to precipitate out the soot and additatives - and clog the engine oiling system!
From the hip, as it were, and based on that article in part, it looks to me like the way to remove the glycols, acids, additative "package" and the suspended carbon, is to make up a solution of 1% sulphuric acid in water and mix that about 1 or 2 parts acid-water to 10 parts used oil - mixing very violently, so as to form an milky emusion. Then allow that to slowly settle out, draining away the watery fraction. I'd run the mix through a rotary pump to mix 'em. After settling and separating the oil faction it would be filtered to 1 or 2 microns and diluted to a reasonable viscosity for fuel. The watery faction would be evaporated in an open pan and the solids disposed of in newspaper in the normal house-hold trash stream.
I am not recommending this - I am offering it for comment.
Here's a short paper for a lay audience on contamination: http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=1033&pagetitle=Four%20Lethal%20Diesel%20Engine%20Oil%20Contaminants
You'll see in that article that it's possible to precipitate out the soot and additatives - and clog the engine oiling system!
From the hip, as it were, and based on that article in part, it looks to me like the way to remove the glycols, acids, additative "package" and the suspended carbon, is to make up a solution of 1% sulphuric acid in water and mix that about 1 or 2 parts acid-water to 10 parts used oil - mixing very violently, so as to form an milky emusion. Then allow that to slowly settle out, draining away the watery fraction. I'd run the mix through a rotary pump to mix 'em. After settling and separating the oil faction it would be filtered to 1 or 2 microns and diluted to a reasonable viscosity for fuel. The watery faction would be evaporated in an open pan and the solids disposed of in newspaper in the normal house-hold trash stream.
I am not recommending this - I am offering it for comment.