Recycling Oil

ddemair

ddemair

Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
815
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
I don't change my car oil anymore, but I do change the oil in my bike. I called an auto parts store (it's a chain, but I don't know if it's a good idea to name them) and asked if they took used motor oil. They do. On a lark, I asked if they take automatic trans fluid since I have a few cans that I'll never use. They take that too and they told me that they put it all together. So, I asked, what about brake fluid. Same thing. It all goes into one big barrel.

That's good news for me since I don't know what else I would do with it, but it did get me to wondering... I can see that used motor oil could be filtered and re-used in other applications, but when there's trans fluid and brake fluid (and who knows what else) in the batch, can it be re-used for any other purpose? Does it just get thrown away? What do they do with it?
 
I know the O'Reilly's and AutoZone's near me have one tank for transmission/brake fluid and another one strictly for oil only, because they allow me to go back and dump my own.
 
Used oil, any type, can be blended with other fuel oils and used up. Waste oil is regularly mixed with heavy fuel oil and burned up in ships and powerplants. Many automotive oriented places have waste oil furnaces to heat their operations. Glycol based stuff like brake fluid and antifreeze can actually be digested by wastewater plants. The microbes eat the glycol just as they eat the poop. But I doubt it's legal to actually dump it in any wastewater system. My best guess is it's recycled/reconstituted. RT
 
Processing used oil for reuse uses up just about all the value in heat. In times of low crude prices: no profit. Nearly all motor oils, gear oils, and transmission fluids are burned as fuel. Brake fluid introduces some weird chemistry which gunks up burners and storage tanks. Here in Nashville there is a recycling drop off which takes motor oil/ATF. Where I worked when I retired (manufacturer of waste oil furnaces and boilers):

EnergyLogic
 
The used mix can go to a refiner for processing. But, as everyone said above, most of it is burned today because of cheap crude oil. At least that's what I've read.
 
TourNut said:
Local place I have taken used oil , engine & trans. , also is oil change & car wash outfit , they use the used oil to heat their place in the winter .
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A local auto repair shop does the same, but he told me that, technically, they're not supposed to because it doesn't burn clean enough.
 

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This is a oil refinery near us that collects and refines used oil, from what I understand they make lubricants. In a former business we had a service station as a neighbour that burned used motor oil for heat and it certainly doesn’t burn as clean as heating oil.
 
My first real job was at an Amoco service station. Whenever we did oil changes or top-offs, the boss had us set the empty new cans open-end-down in a funnel on a 55-gal drum. He used the mix of oil drippings in his own vehicles.
 
Gerhard said:

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Safety-Kleen's Used Oil Collection Services in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are ready to help when you need them.
www.safety-kleen.com www.safety-kleen.com
"burning used motor oil for heat and it certainly doesn’t burn as clean as heating oil.
Click to expand...
I would think you would have to at least strain / filter the engine wear & other crud out of the used oil so it would flow without clogging pipes as it mixes in with regular heating oil . & the hotter it burns the cleaner it is .
 
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