Converting Used Motor Oil to Diesel

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Yeah... Really...

I've been working on a processor for a few years now and it is real... You can heat used motor oil until it vaporizes and then condense it into diesel (among other things)
I am working on a plant with a foot print of about 5'x 8'x 8'tall and I should have it running very soon.

Think about this...
How much used oil is generated every day?
How much do you have to pay for it?
 
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
home made refinery!


Yeah... I built a batch machine and it worked really well but I wanted a continuous production machine that will pump out 6-12GPH without having to babysit it... I am on version 3.0 and I have high hopes for this one... should be test firing in about a week... maybe 2 depending on weather.
 
Mobile_Oilguy,
can you give us some more details on how you do it ?

What sort of equipment, how much heat input, how is it heated ?

Where'd you come up with the idea ?

What sort of viscosity are you getting ?
 
There is a group of people around the world that are trying different designs... We have a forum dedicated to it at http://www.oiltodiesel.com
The process is actually very simple... You heat waste motor oil to about 750-1000*F and then condense the vapors at between 300-700*F and you have diesel...
As far as equipment >> We all have different ideas as to what to use but it all achieves the same result.. Our goal is to make the process and the processor simple enough and cheap enough for the average handyman to build and use.
Viscosity and color is the same as diesel/kerosene.

Most all of the oils lighter than diesel have already been extracted>> the primary objective of the oil companies is to produce gasoline and the "Motor Oil" is one of the byproducts. So if you think about it >> What you have left is Kerosene, Diesel, Lubricating oil, & Fuel oil in th motor oil you buy....Along with all the particulates that it picks up in your motor... We are just distilling out the lighter oils and leaving the heavy oils and the trash there... I have a lube business and the recyclers that picks up my oil now pays $.70 a gallon so I will even get payed for the left overs when I am done...
Another interesting thing to think about is that >> say I have to babysit my machine and it produces 10GPH (which is about what I got out of my last batch type machine) that is equivalent to making $30 per hour with todays fuel prices >> Or I could pay a guy $10 to sit there and still make or save $20 an hour >> I currently spend about $1000 a month on fuel so this would be a huge savings.
 
What type of fuel or power are you using to heat the temp of the oil burner? And, have you figured the cost of the heating/burner costs into your formula of the finished product? Interesting stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
What type of fuel or power are you using to heat the temp of the oil burner? And, have you figured the cost of the heating/burner costs into your formula of the finished product? Interesting stuff.


He said he's swimming in used oil, an excellent heating fuel.

With some ingenuity he might be able to use the leftover petro product that doesn't turn into diesel.
 
Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
What type of fuel or power are you using to heat the temp of the oil burner? And, have you figured the cost of the heating/burner costs into your formula of the finished product? Interesting stuff.

Right now I am using a Beckett Burner like what you would find in a regular boiler or furnace and I am running it on diesel... I am going to modify it later to run on oil>>> but I want the machine running before I play around with that part... I know when I start running oil it is going to run hotter which will help production.
And No.. I haven't figured it into final product cost yet.


Originally Posted By: XS650
He said he's swimming in used oil, an excellent heating fuel.

With some ingenuity he might be able to use the leftover petro product that doesn't turn into diesel.


That is my goal >> to use a portion of the left over heavy oil to run the burner in the furnace... Shouldn't be too difficult. I will sell the rest of the left overs to my recycler which will lower the final product cost.
I am hoping that my cost will just be the electrical cost for running the burner which will be $.05 - $.25 a gallon!
 
There's a Wal Mart in the US with a pilot project where they're saving up the oil from their lube service, and using it to heat the place in winter.

There might be varnish buildup in your fuel system when running this stuff, since it's been exposed to very high temperatures, and might have some chemical loose ends on the molecules. Perhaps adding 5% biodiesel would keep that in solution.

If you can build a pressure vessel that can take about 400 psi with a region insulated to take 400 degrees C, and have some centrifugal pumps set up to move gases around, and have a source for some hydrogen, you could set up a cracking/hydrogenation system and put out higher quality fuel.
 
I am pretty much doing what is being done here... http://www.globalfinest.com/tech/
Except I don't have a plastic shredder and don't use plastics in my processor... Tell you the truth >> I think that if I filter the fuel to about 3-5 microns I shouldn't have any problems... People are running straight vegetable oil without much problem as long as the modify their delivery system to heat it... So a fuel that has the same consistence as diesel and well filtered should be a problem>>> I plan to put some lubricity additives in the fuel also.

As Far a heating systems... You can buy commercially sold heaters that run on waste motor oil and do a Very good job!... They are pretty comparable to traditional heating systems as far as initial setup costs but if you can get you fuel for free >> That is where you start to see you savings.
 
would you send me a sample? I'd like to put it through a GC-FID, GC-PFPD, and sulfur chemiluminescence test to see how the specs of this product really stack up to products ranging from marine gas oil to jet fuel.

Seriously... very interesting. Id love to test it from a chemistry standpoint, to see what the product really looks like chemically.

PM me if you'd like me to do this analysis.

Best,

JMH
 
Seriously, I'd appreciate it if you guys could do this.

I'll chuck in $20 if it will help with shipping or something.
 
I am redesigning and rebuilding my processor right now so I don't have any fuel to test... I will be getting back onto the plant pretty soon... I have one big project that I have to finish first before I can get back to that... I appreciate the offer though... If you want >> there is a group of people building and running these processors at http://www.oiltodiesel.com >> you could post you offer there and I am sure they would like to know the results also...
 
since drian oil has depending 2-5 light ends from fuel dilution
and maybe 10-25 "light" base oils at the high temp you are getting thermal cracking I would guess cost to run and odors maybe a problem.

Plus sludge disposal

bruce
 
bruce, when I read their stuff, I got the impression that the various iron oxides may be having a catalytic effect as well.
 
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