Author Topic: Waste Motor Oil Refining  (Read 58972 times)

listeroidsusa

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Waste Motor Oil Refining
« on: July 29, 2006, 01:41:48 AM »
Instead of filtering the oil I built a prototype rig to re-refine it. Lister says to use only distillate fuel, which this is. This process removes the soot, dirt, water, and other impurities. It gives a return of approximately 50% useable fuel oil. The process is basically the same as used by the original refinery. I use an old propane tank for the dirty supply oil, which is equipped with heating elemints to heat the oil to approximately 300 F. I pull a slight vacuum to eliminate the air and combustion hazzard. Another tank is beside it and this tank has a high vacuum. As you know, water will boil at room temperature if the vacuum is low enough. The same goes for the oil. The hot dirty oil is let into the vacuum tank with a small valve, and the oil is allowed to vaporize. I use pound cake pans to collect the distilled oil. These pans have a central hole for the vapor to pass through and I cut a small hole in the bottom of one side for the condensed oil to drain into a pipe fitting connected to the outside and then to a collection tank. Both the distillation column and the collecting tank are under vacuum. The temperature used determines the weight of the oil collected. Successively higher temperatures collect heavier oil. Once all of the useable fuel oil is collected the bottom oil is drawn off and taken to a used oil collection point or given to a local asphalt plant.

The lighter fractions can be burned as is while the heavier constituents make a very good diesel fuel extender.

Mike

mobile_bob

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2006, 02:31:21 AM »
very cool indeed

would like to see pix of your setup

bob g
otherpower.com, microcogen.info, practicalmachinist.com
(useful forums), utterpower.com for all sorts of diy info

rcavictim

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2006, 07:21:43 AM »
Mike,

I have a stockpile of used transmission fluid and although it burns great undiluted in my VW diesel with filtering to 2 microns and heated to reduce viscosity, the injectors coke up within a half hour.  I am certain that the cause of this is the fine particulates from bands and clutches that remain in suspension in the oil.  I would like to use this oil as generator fuel and had actually been thinking of a small vacuum distillation plant as you have made. I have a brand new 50(?) gallon air compressor receiver that I could use as the boiler. More info and pics would be helpful and appreciated.

-DIY 1.5L NA VW diesel genset - 9 kW 3-phase. Co-gen, dual  fuel
- 1966, Petter PJ-1, 5 kW air cooled diesel standby lighting plant
-DIY JD175A, minimum fuel research genset.
-Changfa 1115
-6 HP Launtop air cooled diesel
-Want Lister 6/1
-Large DIY VAWT nearing completion

Doug

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2006, 04:59:22 PM »
I worked in cracking plant Mike and we had to blow off a lot of those light ends your talking about before the oil could move onto the 520 for the big cook. The condensate we got off waste oil smelled like Gasoline, was yellow like snott, very high in water content and associated PH problems carried with the water.

We got a significate amount of viable fuel feed stock from this that we sent to Sarnia to be refined, but our primary goal was the cracking of heay lube oil into #2 fuel. Condensate loading was scary the fumes would shimmer above the truck and everyone was scared about putting on the ground cluster.

Doug

listeroidsusa

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2006, 09:11:22 PM »
I haven't noticed any gasoline smell, but then I've been running used diesel oil that probably has a lot of #2 in it already from oil dilution. I take care not to have excess water in the oil. My brother runs a garage and we are careful not to contaminate the oil with antifreeze, gear lube, water, or any other material.

rcavictim

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2006, 09:46:26 PM »
I wonder if it would be possible and practical to develop a tiny vacuum still that basically made from 1 to 4 times enough fuel in real time for my VW genset?  The beast is making exhaust and coolant heat which might be used to preheat the raw WMO/WTF, then it has a vacuum pump on it now with the suction port capped off (was used in the car for power brakes).  The small amount of high heat needed in the still tower could come from a modest electric heating element run from some of the plant's electricity output.

You would need a system isolation valve at the output side of the still to let processed oil, maybe a gallon each cycle out and into a small vacuum tank that would then be isolated and let back to atmoshphere so as to become available to the engine.  Excess production could be accumulated in another tank and put somewhere in new oil storage.

At first the controlling functions sound like the need for constant operator attention but if the control sequence could be automated with solenoid valves and electrical timers it might be practical.

Thoughts?
-DIY 1.5L NA VW diesel genset - 9 kW 3-phase. Co-gen, dual  fuel
- 1966, Petter PJ-1, 5 kW air cooled diesel standby lighting plant
-DIY JD175A, minimum fuel research genset.
-Changfa 1115
-6 HP Launtop air cooled diesel
-Want Lister 6/1
-Large DIY VAWT nearing completion

GuyFawkes

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2006, 11:24:01 PM »
we always burnt old engine oil as fuel, filter it gravity wise through fullers earth, then mix 50/50 with diesel, never had a problem.

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Original Lister CS 6/1 Start-o-matic 2.5 Kw (radiator conversion)
3Kw 130 VDC Dynamo to be added. (compressor + hyd pump)
Original Lister D, megasquirt multifuel project, compressor and truck alternator.
Current status - project / standby, Fuel, good old pump diesel.

Doug

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2006, 02:23:27 AM »
That fullers earth will also do a fine job on the dye used in many coloured fuels, at least on my side of the pond.

Mike I don't know much about the process your trying, but I do remember about 15 % of the oil by volume into the pots came out as condensate and that was a 50:50 split water and light ends. As the process continued we ended up with a firther 10% tar in the product that had to be spun out in a centrifuge and we used Hydrazine to help knock ou the tar. This still posed tar problems in Di engines but it made for wonderful burner fuel. I burned the stuff in my service truck, fuel ecconomy was better but I had filter problems. We were also left with about 5% ash cake ( mostly coke minerals and heavy metal that went to land fill ).
This was low presure cracking in the 520 at high temp ( I believe we went as high as 500f depending on feed stock ). But I don't remeber much light ends flashing off even at these temperatures. Most of the condensate came off in the 310 and as I stated before this was a cracking opperation not a distailation plant so the actual chemestry and process was different from what you are trying to do.

Side note the floor of the 520 was 1 inch thick 316 ss, we warped and burned it out more than once with synthetic oils. The other joke was " man alive, there are men alive in there trying to fix it...."

Doug

Doug

rcavictim

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2006, 02:42:37 AM »
we always burnt old engine oil as fuel, filter it gravity wise through fullers earth, then mix 50/50 with diesel, never had a problem.



I had to look up Fuller's Earth to learn what it is.  I wonder where I can purchase it.  One factoid I picked up was that kitty litter often contains Fuller's Earth.  Since I have cat litter here for my kitties I plan to try and let some WTF run through some in a sieve pan and see what comes out.  Thanx for the tip!
-DIY 1.5L NA VW diesel genset - 9 kW 3-phase. Co-gen, dual  fuel
- 1966, Petter PJ-1, 5 kW air cooled diesel standby lighting plant
-DIY JD175A, minimum fuel research genset.
-Changfa 1115
-6 HP Launtop air cooled diesel
-Want Lister 6/1
-Large DIY VAWT nearing completion

kyradawg

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2006, 04:26:31 AM »

Peace&Love :D, Darren
« Last Edit: August 03, 2006, 02:10:24 AM by kyradawg »

rcavictim

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2006, 04:44:25 AM »
"I plan to try and let some - WTF - run through some in a sieve pan and see what comes out."

Well what the fuck do you think is gonna come out? LOL (WTF)

Peace&Love :D, Darren

That joke is pretty hard to resist!

You're not an agent with the BATF are you?  In the US the federal government has a bureau that takes Automatic Transmission Fluid very seriously!  They even carry guns and have the power to arrest dipsticks.   ;D
« Last Edit: July 31, 2006, 06:02:48 AM by rcavictim »
-DIY 1.5L NA VW diesel genset - 9 kW 3-phase. Co-gen, dual  fuel
- 1966, Petter PJ-1, 5 kW air cooled diesel standby lighting plant
-DIY JD175A, minimum fuel research genset.
-Changfa 1115
-6 HP Launtop air cooled diesel
-Want Lister 6/1
-Large DIY VAWT nearing completion

hotater

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2006, 01:21:23 AM »
Fuller's Earth is a very fine dietematious (woo-ee, I bet that's wrong!) earth and is named after "Fullers" that made and dyed cloth.

About 99% of a sack of 'oil dry' is Fuller's earth.  Kitty litter has wood chips and perfume and anti dust stuff in it too.

Red wine filtered through Fuller's earth comes out pale pink.
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Currently running PS-Kit 6-1/5Kw...and some MPs and Chanfas and diesel snowplows and trucks and stuff.

rcavictim

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #12 on: August 08, 2006, 05:49:46 AM »
Fuller's Earth is a very fine dietematious (woo-ee, I bet that's wrong!) earth and is named after "Fullers" that made and dyed cloth.

About 99% of a sack of 'oil dry' is Fuller's earth.  Kitty litter has wood chips and perfume and anti dust stuff in it too.

Red wine filtered through Fuller's earth comes out pale pink.

I buy the unscented, dry clay cheap brand litter.  No parfum and I don't see any wood chips.

What does red wine taste like after filtering through kitty litter? :D  Some experiments are best left untried.
-DIY 1.5L NA VW diesel genset - 9 kW 3-phase. Co-gen, dual  fuel
- 1966, Petter PJ-1, 5 kW air cooled diesel standby lighting plant
-DIY JD175A, minimum fuel research genset.
-Changfa 1115
-6 HP Launtop air cooled diesel
-Want Lister 6/1
-Large DIY VAWT nearing completion

pigseye

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #13 on: August 08, 2006, 04:07:53 PM »
Will fullers earth remove water from waste motor oil?

Thanks

GuyFawkes

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Re: Waste Motor Oil Refining
« Reply #14 on: August 08, 2006, 04:26:47 PM »
Will fullers earth remove water from waste motor oil?

Thanks

yes, but it is a "bad" way to do it, it is a lot faster / easier / cheaper to use a filter or evaporate it off.

if you have good thermal insulation, evaporating it off at 110 celcuis can be very economical, and it is about as simple as a thing can be made.
--
Original Lister CS 6/1 Start-o-matic 2.5 Kw (radiator conversion)
3Kw 130 VDC Dynamo to be added. (compressor + hyd pump)
Original Lister D, megasquirt multifuel project, compressor and truck alternator.
Current status - project / standby, Fuel, good old pump diesel.